New Neighbor
by Raegan Marie
Summary: Previously a one-shot! Bella moves into her new apartment and Edward lives across the hall. This is a moving day she will never forget. LEMONS!
1. Chapter 1

**This chapter is dedicated to my friend and Beta, Jasmine (BlueFlowerAlways) because she luurrrves lemons and it's her birthday. Love you!**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

I pulled my rusty old Chevy truck into the apartment complex's parking garage. It was a new start for me, and I was a little skeptical about moving, but my previous apartment was just way too expensive for me anymore. So here I am. I slammed the door shut and went to the bed of the truck. It only contained a few boxes since the rest of the bigger and heavier things would be coming later with the moving van. I picked up one of the lightest boxes and headed into the building. Maneuvering the box as best I could, I leaned back and pressed the 'up' button of the elevator with my foot. The doors sprang open and I stepped inside, and I pressed the button of my floor; the number '11' lit up. It seemed like forever until I got to my floor, but finally the doors slid open and I walked out onto my floor.

"11 B, 11 B," I muttered to myself as I walked the unfamiliar corridor, looking for my new residence. I found it, finally, and stopped in front of the door. Pulling out the key from my back pocket, I slipped it into the lock and turned.

The apartment looked deserted save for a few appliances in a room that I thought looked like it was trying to impersonate a kitchen. _I guess this will have to do._ I felt as if this were the end of my life. There was no one I knew here, and I was never good at socializing. I'm just so awkward in situations, I can't help it.

I set the box down in what was to be my bedroom and my eyes widened. _Renee must have sent the bed already…_ It was a huge canopy bed with burgundy silk sheets, pillows, and…well, everything. Leave it to Renee, the most eccentric mother in the universe to send an elaborate bed that was totally and completely unnecessary. It was definitely Renee's style. I hated it. It looked comfortable, but I knew what her motives were. She was thinking that perhaps if I had a luxurious bed, more guys would want to sleep with me. I didn't understand the logic, seeing as the guy would have to meet me elsewhere before getting me into my bed, and I would screw up that meeting. So I was left with this huge bed for no reason just staring me in the face. Ugh.

There was a light tapping at my front door. At first I thought I was hearing things, since I didn't know anyone around here. But it came again, and I decided to go answer it. I opened the door upon the caller's fourth knock, and was greeted by a _big _surprise.

Standing in front of me was an Adonis incarnate. He stood probably about 6'2", and as my eyes raked over his body I noticed he had muscles in all the right places. His arms strained against his gray T shirt, and his black jeans fell on his lower half oh-so-perfectly. His full, pink, lips were etched in a delectable pout, which contrasted beautifully with his pale skin. His jaw line was defined and masculine, and his eyes…oh, his eyes could be stared into for days. They were the most brilliant shade of green and seemed to be staring into the very depths of my being. His hair was a strange bronze color and it looked as if he had just crawled out of bed, yet it was so undeniably sexy…I just wanted to run my hands through those locks of hair, press my lips against his…

"Um…hello?" questioned the gorgeous man in front of me.

"Huh? Oh, um, hi…" I managed to stumble out of my mouth. What kind of…of…_creature _could look that incredibly inviting? It baffled me to the point of speechlessness, as clearly evidenced by my spacing out and lame ass greeting.

There seemed to be something troubling him, because there was a crease in his forehead that clearly signaled worry. I wondered what was bothering him, and only wished I could help him in whatever way I could. I wanted him to tell me about it, and I wanted to listen.

"I, uh, saw you moving in, and I thought I'd come by and welcome you. You know, be a good neighbor? I'm Edward." He chuckled what sounded like nervous laughter.

My heart raced. "Bella. You live on this floor?"

"Yeah, just across the hall," he pointed to his door, "in 11 C."

A big smile spread across my face before I could stop it.

"Well, at least I'll know one person around here."

"I figured I'd get over here before Sue does. She's the rotten old lady that lives in 11 F, down the hall. I just know she would start going on and on about all the rules and regulations," he divulged.

"Is she really that bad?" I asked.

"When I moved in, she started going off in this shrill high pitched voice, like, 'No drugs! I don't want any alcohol parties or loud music! And I better not catch you bringing any women home, because I won't hesitate to interrupt your little whoopee session!'"

I didn't think I had ever laughed harder than I was upon hearing Edward's old lady impersonation. We laughed together for what seemed like minutes, and then there was a silence. And me, being the Awkward Ally, decided to speak.

"Well, she won't have to worry about that with me. There aren't any guys interested in coming home with me," I said, rather pathetically.

I looked into Edward's entrancing green eyes and he looked confused, then speculative, then outraged.

"I don't see why they wouldn't," he mumbled under his breath, but it was loud enough for me to hear. I shrugged it off as a nice compliment, not wanting to get my hopes up, especially this man was a god and I was the plainest of all mortals.

After another long silence, it was Edward who spoke first.

"Do you need help with boxes or anything?"

"There's just a few in the bed of my truck. But I can get them no problem," I said, shooting myself in the foot. _Damnit! Stupid, stupid, Bella. You should have accepted his offer!_

"Don't worry about it, I'd love to help," he smiled at me, and I nearly collapsed into jelly on the floor. There was something so sweet and kind about the smile, but it was also devilish. His smile was sort of crooked, and hinted at a less shy and less awkward man.

We made casual small talk from the walk to the truck, in the elevator, and into my apartment. There was light-hearted laughter, but nothing as intense as before. I could hardly believe this wonderful, beautiful, man was talking to me, let alone helping me with my things! It was a surreal experience.

Once we placed the boxes into the pseudo-kitchen, we stood there rocking back and forth on our heels, hands in pockets, looking around nervously as if we both had lost the ability to speak. It was true on my end, but Edward was probably just thinking of a nice way to say, 'You're a crazy weirdo, can I go now?'

"Would you, um, like to come over for some coffee?"

I just stared. "Huh?"

"I just thought you might be tired from moving, and since none of your things are set up, I'd like to offer you some coffee from my place. I understand if you don't want to, I mean, you don't even know me, but that's okay. Like I said, I understand…" he rambled.

"No!" I said a little too forcefully. "I mean, no, I would like to come over for coffee."

He smiled enthusiastically and his expression was that of disbelief.

"Really? Okay!" He held the door open for me, and led me the across the hall to his apartment. _I guess chivalry isn't dead…_

Edward's apartment was exactly how I imagined it to be. The walls were painted a navy blue and there were journals and books and pictures lining every inch of the bookshelves he had set up. It had a very manly, yet intelligent feel to the place. I liked it.

"How do you like it?" he asked me. A simple question, but since my brain was on extra crazy today I nearly died when he asked me.

"What?" I asked, taken aback at his forwardness.

"Your coffee. How do you like your coffee?" _Oh. Phew. If I had said _'rough and dirty' _I might have just died. Although, it wouldn't be too bad if he was asking me that. I would soooo like some of him…_

"Two sugars and a creamer, please," I opted for instead.

As he brewed the pot of coffee, I watched his every move. His ass looked so god damn tight in those god forsaken jeans that I just wanted to reach out and grab it, but I didn't. His shoulders were so defined; I imagined myself gripping them hard as he pushed me over the brink of ecstasy…

"Here," he said, handing me the coffee and interrupting my fantasy, and we sat at his kitchen table together.

We shared stories about our friends and family, most of which made us both crack up in uncontrollable laughter. The coffee started to get to me, I guess, and I really had to pee. I asked to use his bathroom and he pointed me in the direction of his bathroom. I shut the door behind me and used the facilities. Whilst washing my hands I looked at myself in the mirror. I was so plain it almost made me sick. There was nothing extraordinary about my straight brown hair that fell past my shoulders. I had brown eyes, too, of course, since brown is _such _a lovely color, right? I tried to smooth down my hair and straightened out my sort of snug t-shirt. My thin, pale legs poked out of a pair of black shorts I had chosen for moving day. _He'd never be interested in this._

I sighed and stepped out of the bathroom and met him putting the mugs into his dishwasher.

"I'll walk you to your door," he said. _Chivalry may not be dead, but he just wants to get me out of here._

We stopped in front of my apartment and I leaned on the door. I wasn't sure if this was just a once-in-a-lifetime kind gesture, and if he would act like he never knew me. I didn't want the day to end, but I knew it had to eventually. It seemed as though nothing would ever go the way I wanted it.

"Thanks for walking me to my door. You didn't have to."

"I wanted to," he said, reassuringly. And somehow I believed him.

I looked deep into his eyes, searching for something that would tell me what he was feeling at this moment, to see if he could possibly be even minutely close to how I was feeling. I got my answer in a way I definitely wasn't expecting.

He planted a quick kiss on my lips, and I was in shock.

He mistook my open-mouthed gaze for disgust and started to apologize all over himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…I just got ahead of myself, I can't believe I just did that…I'll just go now…"

I pulled his face to mine and pressed my lips against his, cutting off whatever else he was going to say. Our lips moved together in a rhythmic motion, fitting together perfectly. I released his mouth and could already feel my lips getting a bit swollen. I let a smile spread across my face at the forward movement I had taken, and the triumph of leaving him speechless. I tried my best to convey to him with only my eyes how much I wanted him, needed him. He must have gotten the message because he pushed me against the door and slid his hand around and cupped the back of my neck, in an effort for better access. He sucked and nibbled at the crook of my neck and collarbone, and I let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"We should go inside. Don't want Sue catching us," I whispered, and he let go of me so I could open my apartment door. As soon as we were both inside, he slammed the door shut and lifted me up to straddle his waist, and pushed me against my front door again. The new and pleasurable contact we had was exciting, and between kisses and nibbles and licks I ground my hips into his growing erection and moaned. He responded with his own sexy moan, and I took the opportunity to plunge my tongue into his mouth. Our tongues swirled and sucked with each other, and he pulled me infinitely closer by gripping my ass with his strong hands.

I released my mouth for just a second to gasp, "Bed" and he walked us to the only other room that could be the bedroom. Silently thanking Renee, he threw me on my back onto the silk sheets that I had previously scoffed at.

I sat up and kissed him with more urgency, and began to strip him of his shirt, anxious to see his clearly defined muscles. He did the same to me, and we were both shirtless on the luxurious bed. My eyes raked over his torso, and it was better than I imagined. His pecs were chiseled, as well as his arms and his beautiful stomach. I leaned over and started to kiss and suckle at the flesh, relishing in the feeling of his muscles contracting with my every move.

He pushed me on my back and groaned at the sight of my bra. I panicked for a second, thinking I was wearing the granny bra and panty set I normally wore, then relaxed when I saw when I remembered: I didn't have any of my normal sets clean, and the only one left was the ridiculous thing that Renee bought me last Christmas. I thanked her again, this time for the navy blue push up bra and matching lacy thong.

"I love that color," Edward groaned and he bent over to kiss along the line of my bra, teasing my flesh, as I felt the familiar wetness begin to rush to my lower region. He made short work of the bra and through it aside, leaving my top completely exposed, and once again he growled. He went right for my nipple, flicking with his tongue, then sucking on it shamelessly and greedily, while showing the other one attention my kneading and pinching. My breath started coming out in pants and gasps and all I managed was the occasional 'ohhhhh.'

Edward clicked his tongue. "Well that's not good enough," he said, and leaned down to put his mouth right by my ear, "I want to hear you scream my name."

I felt a hundred times wetter at his words, and he moved his hands down my flat stomach, kissing along the way, until he got to my shorts button. He undid it slowly, until he saw the lacy material of my navy blue thong. He pulled my shorts off at lightning speed. I felt so open being the only one without pants, so I lifted myself up and undid his, making sure to stroke the skin right above his boxer line, which elicited a hiss from Edward.

"Fuck, Bella. You're so god damn sexy," he growled and plundered my mouth once more before sucking his way down to my core. His fingers played with the edge of my panties, until I was literally begging for him to just rip them the hell off me.

He must have understood what I wanted, because the next thing to come out of his mouth was, "I can't give you what you want yet, Bella. That wouldn't be very fun, would it?" He smirked, and ran his finger across the heat of my panties, briefly hitting my most sensitive area. I whimpered at the lack of proper touch and he chuckled, clearly enjoying torturing me. I was so going to get him back for this…

He began to rub a little faster this time, and more frequently over my bundle of nerves.

"Please," I begged, and he complied. He ripped them off me (sorry, Renee) and began to work his magic with those delectable fingers of his. His hand moved furiously against my clit, rubbing harder and faster, and pinching.

"More," I growled, as I felt the coil in my stomach begin to tighten.

He grinned and picked up the pace, and I was so close, ready to burst, when he pinched my clit hard and I lost it. I threw my head back and clamped my eyes shut, moaning in ecstasy as my back arched off the bed.

"Yeah, that's it, cum for me," said Edward. _Dirty talking Edward…yum…_

After I got over my fit of ecstasy, I sat straight up and flipped us over so Edward was sitting propped up with a few pillows. I traced my fingers down his stomach and played with the edge of his boxers, until I couldn't take it anymore and ripped them off him. Nothing I could have ever fantasized did this man's huge, throbbing member any justice. I was worried about the size, but decided to throw all caution to the wind, since I was, after all, about to have sex with basically a stranger.

I stroked his cock with feather light touches, back and forth, as payback for his earlier stunt. He started to get all hot and bothered so I picked up the pace a little, and added more pressure, until my entire hand was fisted around him and I was pumping him at incredible speeds. He was panting and groaning, and, when I took him all in my mouth, yelling 'shit, Bella' over and over again. The bit I couldn't fit I stroked with one hand, and I could tell he was close. I used the other hand to cup his balls, and he was done.

"Unnnhhh Bella," he screamed as he came in my mouth. I swallowed him all quickly, wanting him inside me before he realized he was too good for me.

I straddled him and pleaded, "I need you now."

He grabbed my hips and teased my center with his rock hard erection. I whimpered and pleaded with him, and finally he obliged.

"You want my hard cock inside of you?"

"Ohhh yes, please!"

He lifted me up and positioned me over his cock, and then rammed me right down on him. He let me sit for a second or two to get adjusted to his Moby Dick like size, and then I started wriggling my hips, searching for some serious friction.

He guided me up and down his slick member, hitting my spot each time. All that could be heard were the sounds of our growls and moans and heavy breathing and dirty talking. It was bliss.

I swiveled my hips and the intermittent feeling of my favorite spot being hit at a different angle made the pressure build again, and even more so.

"Oh, Bella, I just love watching you ride my cock," Edward growled, and that sent me over the edge for the second time that night. I couldn't resist a dirty talking Edward. I threw my head back and screamed his name, "Edward!"

Not far behind me was his own climax overlapping with mine; as one.

"Unnnhhh fuckkkk Bella!" was his cry as his eyes bulged out of their sockets. We rode our orgasms out together until both of us were too tired to even move anymore. I slid off him and lied next to him on the silky sheets. I looked up at the ceiling with a big stupid grin on my face. Looking over at him to steal a glance, I saw that he was doing the same thing, and he met my gaze and chuckled as he spoke.

"Am I good neighbor or what?"

**Reviews are always appreciated! This is my first lemon so let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I can't believe how many people put this story on their favorite/alert list! I never expected a response like that. Thank you guys sooooo much. I got a few requests to make this into a full-blown story, and I've decided to do so! I think I'm going to like this…**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

_His hand ran down my curves, feeling every inch of flesh that was exposed. My breathing started to quicken as his fingers dipped inside my panties and searched for my center._

"_You're so wet for me," Edward said in a husky tone._

"_Please," I begged him, moaning at the contact, wanting - no - needing some sort of friction._

_He used the very tip of his finger to trace small, slow circles around my sensitive nub, teasing me with every rotation. My hips lifted off the bed instinctively and he pinned them back down on the bed._

"_No, no, Bella. Good things come to people who wait," he whispered deliciously._

_I tried to behave myself, hoping that he would give me what I wanted if I listened to him. And I was right. The circles around my clit became faster, and he started to vary his methods; rubbing, flicking, pinching, circling, until I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't behave. I bucked my hips up furiously, writhing under the power of his touch. I was so close to my release, and…_

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The annoyingly loud beeping of my alarm clock woke me up. I was so angry I wanted to throw it across the room. I sat up and reached over to press the button that would stop the shrill noise. I had been having the most wonderful dream, and so vivid, too. I looked down and noticed my panties were newly soaked, from something that had nothing to do with last night.

_Last night._

I slept with my new neighbor, Edward. Lord, I didn't even know his last name! I looked over to the other side of the bed and he wasn't there. _Was the whole thing a dream? No, it couldn't have been…_There was a note on his pillow. In the most perfect handwriting I had ever seen for a guy, was a note explaining his absence.

_Bella,_

_Family emergency, gone to Chicago._

_Hopefully be back soon._

_Edward_

Family emergency…was everyone alright? Did someone die? Was it just a lame excuse to get some then leave without having himself look like a total bastard? He didn't even leave his phone number so I could contact him. What kind of girl did he take me for? I'm not loose with men by any means. Any guy I had ever slept with I had been in a serious relationship with them. Except, of course, for that guy at the bar when I got totally wasted, but that was a completely different story.

Wait a second. Who was I to be demanding a better explanation and a phone number? I didn't even know the guy for Pete's sake. He had no obligation to me whatsoever, and neither did I to him. So why did I feel so possessive of him?

I decided to try and shake these thoughts and feelings off as I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I flicked the light on and started rummaging through the box labeled 'bathroom' for my toiletries and a towel and washcloth. Once I found the items, I stripped myself of my underwear, started the shower and stepped in.

The hot water washing over me felt incredible. It revitalized my muscles, still sore from the events that occurred last night. No one had ever made me feel that good. His hands were expert as they explored my body, grabbed my hips…_Stop it! _I needed to stop thinking about him if I was ever going to get through the day, let alone the amount of time he would be gone. And it wouldn't help to get all hot and bothered first thing in the morning. I shook my head, as if the memories would physically leave my head and swirl down the drain. I picked up the shampoo bottle and poured some in my hand, and began to lather it into my hair. As my hands worked through my hair, it reminded me of how Edward's fingers ran through it, massaging and pulling and grabbing. I let out a low moan as my nipples began to harden, and I noticed that I was using one hand to lather my hair in circles, while the other hand was massaging my breast, working its way to my nipple in the same motion as my hair.

"Stop it!" I yelled to myself in the shower. I continued my shower fighting back thoughts of Edward.

I stepped out of the shower and closed the curtain, and reached for my towel. I walked out into the apartment with it wrapped around my body. I paused for a second to think about which box my clothes were located in, then went to the one in my room labeled 'clothes.' I chose a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top; I was going to be moving the rest of my things today, and it was going to take a lot of work. The note Edward left was still on the bed. I picked it up and tucked it away in my pocket. Perhaps it would give some hope that he would return, wanting to at least see me. My heart soared when I realized the note said that he hoped he would be back soon. Did that mean he was upset to leave me? Did he want to spend the day with me? Or did he just want to get his family business over with and come back home? This thing was just so damn confusing…I didn't know what to do with myself.

As I never had the chance to do any grocery shopping, there was absolutely no food in the house. I looked at the clock: 9:13 AM. I figured I had about an hour or two before the movers got to my place, so I grabbed my keys and headed out the door with my stomach grumbling.

Down the elevator and out into the bright sun of the morning, I made my way down the street; I remembered passing a Dunkin' Donuts down the street from my apartment. I walked about a half a mile to get to the place. There was a line going all the way to China, but there was really no other way I was going to get breakfast, so I waited quite impatiently. 20 minutes and four stares from strangers due to the sound my stomach was making, it was finally my turn.

"Welcome to Dunkin' Donuts. How may I help you?" asked the unnaturally peppy cashier.

"Hi, I'd like an egg white flatbread sandwich, please."

She nodded and put the order in. "Anything else?"

"A medium coffee, cream and two sugars, please."

"No problem."

I handed the girl my money and received my coffee and change, and went over to the other counter to wait for my flatbread sandwich to finish cooking. I took a sip of my deliciously hot coffee when my cell phone rang. Taking it out of my pocket, the call ID screen read 'Alice.'

Alice Brandon was my favorite person in the world. Literally. She was the complete opposite of me in a lot of ways. She was a tiny pixie-like thing, with short, cropped, black hair, and a vibrant personality to make anyone forget their problems. Alice was just so bubbly, you couldn't help but smile when you were around her. The one thing that is totally not me is her favorite hobby: shopping. Christ, that's all the girl did! And she just had to drag me along with her. I mean, I love her and all, but did I really need 30 lingerie sets and 20 bikinis and a million and one outfits? Definitely not my style. But she was my best friend, so I grinned and bared it. Although, I think she secretly loved torturing me. Especially when she dragged me out to dance clubs and whatnot. I did not, under any circumstances, dance at all. I was terribly uncoordinated. I didn't know much about her past, only that she had a sister she barely knew, and a bad case of amnesia when she was younger due to a traumatic experience in an asylum. She wasn't crazy, I knew that, it was for some mental disorder she was dealing with as a child. She was relatively open about it, but I felt as if I was intruding on personal ground, so I never asked her about it too much. No matter how I felt, Alice was always there for me. Trying to get me to shop, trying to set me up with people, even since high school, or just sitting around with me eating ice cream. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.

I smiled and picked it up.

"Good morning, Alice," I said.

"Bella! Hi! How are you this morning? How's your new apartment? What are you doing right now?" Alice responded way too enthusiastically.

"Slow down, Alice. It's way too early for that. I'm fine, I'm just waiting for my breakfast at D&D. You?"

"Shopping, what else? I have work to do, you know." Alice was a personal stylist for some pseudo-celebrity that lived around here. I wasn't entirely up to date on pop culture, so I couldn't tell you who it was.

"Right, right."

"So how's the apartment?" She questioned.

"It's alright. Renee sent this crazy canopy bed over. Can you believe it? It's just like her. No wonder you two get along so well. It's sickening, you know. I think you guys were separated at birth…I'm definitely not her daughter," I laughed into the phone.

"I think the same thing every day! I bet the bed is all silky and lacy and perfect!"

She was spot on. I wondered what she would say if I had just broken the sheets in the previous night. I couldn't tell her about Edward. At least not right away. This was certainly not the place, plus I couldn't deal with all the questions and details and everything else she would throw at me.

"You're right, like always."

The man handed me my sandwich and I walked over to a table and sat down with my breakfast. I bit into my food and moaned; it tasted like heaven.

"What are you orgasming about over there? Is there a man with you?!" she shouted in my ear.

I nearly choked on the food.

"Alice! No, it's just my food, calm down."

"Oh, alright. I was gonna say, if Bella Swan is getting laid, in the morning, before me, there is something seriously wrong with this world."

"No, no, just food."

"Speaking of men…any cute ones in your new building?"

I paused. I secretly wanted to gush about everything that had happened last night, just as she had with her many conquests before, but something held me back. I wasn't entirely sure what the situation was, and I really didn't want to start thinking about how much of a crazy person I was for wanting to possess this stranger man like he was mine and mine only.

"No. Crazy old lady named Sue, though."

"Damnit!" she cursed.

"I know, you want me to get laid. Calm yourself, please," I said.

"I do! You need it, Bells. Oh! Shit, Bella, there's a problem with the dress. I'll have to talk to you later. Love you!"

"Bye, Alice. Love you, too."

There was a click on the other side of the line and I hung up. By that time I was finished with my breakfast and I took one last swig of my now lukewarm coffee. I got up and threw everything out in the trash and walked back to my apartment.

I got to the elevator and rode it all the way up to the eleventh floor, and walked into 11 B with a twist of the key.

I tossed the keys onto the countertop and glanced over at the clock. It read 10:20 AM. The movers would be here any minute, and then it would be one of the longest days of my life, especially having to not think about Edward all day. I couldn't think about his messy bronze hair, his bright green eyes, the way his lips always fell into a natural pout, soft, plump, and beautiful against my own, against my skin…

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Silently thanking whom I guessed to be the movers for interrupting what could have been another panty ruining session, I strode over to the door and opened it.

"Hi," I said.

Two middle aged and slightly portly men stood in front of me, looking like they hadn't shaved or showered in days stood before me.

"We're here to move Isabella Swan's things in. Are you her?" the blonde one asked.

"Yes, that's me. You can bring the stuff right up."

"Okay, just confirming," the brown-haired man said, and they both made their way downstairs to retrieve their things.

I pulled my hair up into a quick ponytail and got ready for the task ahead of me. They returned with boxes of my things, a bookshelf, small kitchen appliances and accessories, lamps, a couch, TV, a desk, a stereo, my laptop, an area rug, and everything else I had to my name. It took about forty minutes for them to bring everything up, I tipped them, bid them farewell, and they were gone. I sighed and looked around at everything. _At least I'll be busy. Maybe it will distract me._ I grabbed my iPod and cranked up the loudest and heaviest song on it, and plugged the earphones in my ears.

I spent all day arranging and rearranging and rearranging yet again, anything and everything that was in my possession. The living room was set up with a modest black couch and cute little area rug I found in downtown Portland on my last visit with Renee. It took me just about forever to plug the TV into all the right places, but I eventually got it. I put the desk in the living room as well and placed my laptop on top of it, along with my lamp. It was rather cozy, in my opinion.

Next was the kitchen. I loved to cook, so I had a lot of kitchen things to set up. All my favorite pots, pans, bowls, small appliances, etc, were placed in various cabinets and drawers. I couldn't wait to start cooking. It was my hobby. It was also my job. I worked at a local restaurant called Fetta di Calabria, a small but well-respected place that served Calabrese food. Unlike most people, I loved my job. I was 25, had a successful career and a college education, a great apartment, an amazing best friend. To some I had a close to perfect life. The only thing that was missing was a guy that I could love and relate to. Hell, what was missing was a guy that I could actually go on a date with! _Maybe Edward will be the one…Wait, no…stop! It was just a one-night-stand. You can't think of it any more than that._

I set up the rest of my stuff in the bedroom and a few more things in the bathroom, and it was around 3:30. I had worked right through lunch. As soon as I became aware of this fact, I became grotesquely hungry. Too hungry to grocery shop. So I picked up the phone and ordered myself some Chinese food from a place in the phone book. I lied down on my couch and closed my eyes to finally relax.

I mist have drifted off, because the next thing I remember there was a loud knock at the door and I was groggily stumbling to answer it.

"Hello," I mumbled.

The delivery man handed me a bag of my food, gave me the total, and we exchanged salutations and money.

I closed the door and made my way back to the couch and sat down. I started to flip through the channels as I ate the most delicious Chinese food I had tasted in my entire life, and stopped at some random channel that was hosting infomercials, since there was nothing else on TV.

I must have been really tired, because I fell asleep and woke up again, but to a different sound. My eyes weren't completely open, and I heard a strange noise. Strange, but sort of familiar and oddly comforting. I started to moan at the man's husky moans, and I brought my hand up to my clothed breast. My fingers traced the nipple through my shirt and I gasped at the pleasure it brought me, along with the man's voice. I took my other hand and unzipped my shorts and threw them on the floor. I slipped my hand between my thighs and my breath hitched at the contact my fingers made with my clit through the thin material of my panties. I began moving my hand back and forth in a slow motion, building the pressure in my abdomen. I dipped my fingers inside my panties and was shocked at how wet I was. I heard the man's silky smooth voice whisper "so wet" and I groaned.

"Oh, Edward," I sighed as my fingers moved faster against my swollen bundle of my nerves, rubbing in circular motions and pinching once in a while.

"Oh yeahhhh," the man's voice said.

I slipped a finger between my folds and placed one inside me, and whimpered a bit. It was nothing like Edward. He had been big and stretched me, and even though this was full of pleasure, it was nowhere near how I felt last night. So I added another finger, pumping furiously in and out, and I brought my other hand down to my center, stroking and circling and rubbing my clit in tune with my fingers in an attempt to find my release. My mouth hung open and I arched my back, moaning louder now.

"That's right, baby," the man's voice taunted.

"Edward, more. I love the way you touch me," I moaned.

"Cum for me, babe. I want you to cum," he said.

I pinched my clit roughly, and that, coupled with the man's dirty talking velvet voice, threw me over the edge of ecstasy as my eyes flew open and I nearly screamed in pleasure. I rode out my orgasm and then sat straight up. Where had the voice come from?! I nearly freaked out, until I realized there was some cheap porno on the TV. It must have came on when I fell asleep. God damnit…this sexual frustration and day dreams of Edward needed to stop. I was already going crazy, and it had only been a day! What was it about this man that made me so nuts? I only wished whatever was happening over in Chicago wasn't too serious and that he would come home soon. I wanted him to knock on my door, smile at me and then mischievously throw me down on the bed and ravish me. That's all I wanted at the moment.

My core was still throbbing from my little self-indulgence, and I got up to take a cold shower. Hopefully it would work.

It did, for the most part. I got out of the shower around ten, and I decided there was nothing else to do but go back to sleep. I would grocery shop tomorrow, and maybe, just maybe, not dream of the most beautiful person on earth again.

Maybe.

**That's it! I hope you guys like it, and I'm getting really excited for this story. Leave me reviews! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you want to see next chapter, etc. Do you want to see what Edward's doing, and if Bella has the same effect on him as he does on her? I can't know unless you tell me!**

**Raegan Marie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Seriously, you guys are awesome. I'm spoiling you all by posting another chapter so soon, but I can't control myself!**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**EPOV**

It was five in the morning and I was awake. Pretty unusual for me, but there was something on my mind. Correction: there was some_one_ on my mind. The woman lying right next to me, her breathing soft, even, steady, as she slept. A marvelous, incredible, intelligent, witty, beautiful, sexy, woman.

Bella.

Her name radiated beauty, and every time I thought it, it brought a swell to my throat.

I looked over and watched her chest rise and fall with each breath she took. I could watch her for hours. It was an incredibly soothing sight, until my eyes lingered over her breasts for too long, and it brought flashbacks from last night, seeing her bounce up and down, slamming herself onto me, the mind-blowing sounds she made when she came…

Before I knew it I was rock hard again. _Damnit. _I really wasn't trying to be a total creep, honest. There was just this undeniable connection that I felt towards Bella, even though I hardly knew her. In fact, I never even caught her last name. But none of that mattered to me. I was going to stay here and wait for her to wake up, and we could talk and laugh and make love and eat and sing and dance and fuck and hug and, you know, whatever. We could do whatever we wanted.

I was getting way ahead of myself. She probably thought of this as just a one night stand, and wanted me gone before the sun came up. I should just spare her the awkwardness of the morning and take my walk of shame now. But the other side of my brain, the one I liked more, was telling me to stay and get to know her. Backwards logic, perhaps, but it was something that I craved.

I heard the buzzing sound of my phone from the floor, which was in my pants pocket. I grabbed it quickly so it wouldn't wake her up, and ran into the bathroom as I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Edward. Hey, it's Tyler."

Tyler Crowley and I had been best friends since before I could even remember. We grew up in Chicago together and went to the same college: The University of Illinois. 22 years we spent being inseparable. But I wanted to do something in advertising in Seattle, a place that I used to love visiting, and he wanted to stay in Chicago to become a cop, and, ultimately, move up the ranks to homicide detective. We were both 26 now, and living our own separate lives. We kept in touch from time to time, whenever we weren't too busy. I was surprised to hear from him so out of the blue, especially since it was so early in the morning.

"Hey, man. It's really early…is everything alright?"

"That's why I called. Um…you remember my Aunt Leah?"

"Yeah! She was my favorite."

"She passed away last night."

"Tyler. Shit, man. I'm so sorry."

"I normally wouldn't ask, but I don't really have anyone anymore and, well…do you think you could come over here? To Chicago? Mom and Dad are a mess, and I could really use a friend right now. I know it's short notice, and all."

"No, dude. I'll get the next flight out," I promised. Tyler was my best friend, no matter how many miles apart we were. I would do almost anything for the guy.

"Thank you so much, Edward. It means a lot," he choked.

"I know. I'll call you." I hung up the phone.

I looked through the crack of the bathroom door into the bedroom. Bella was still sound asleep, looking as beautiful as ever. I hated to leave her, but Tyler was basically family and he really needed me. I could tell. I contemplated waking her up, and explaining the situation, but realized that once she rose, I might not be able to control myself and just stay in bed with her all day, neglecting Tyler. I also didn't want to disturb her from what looked to be a deep, deep, sleep.

I found a scrap of paper and a pen in her kitchen and wrote out a note.

_Bella,_

_Family emergency_, _gone to Chicago._

_Hopefully be back soon._

_Edward_

I placed the note on the pillow next to her head and looked at her. I didn't put my number down because I assumed I would be too busy with Tyler to answer. Besides, I didn't want to seem too forward, and get my hopes up for her to call. I chuckled to myself at the thought of a number being too forward, when we had just slept together last night.

I scrambled to find my clothes in the dark. When I did, I dressed quickly and quietly, attempting to not disturb Bella. Whatever she was dreaming about, it was definitely keeping her occupied. It was time to leave; I had to get a ticket on the next flight to Chicago and pack my things as soon as possible. I hated leaving this goddess without any sort of goodbye, but I had to. I risked a gentle kiss on her forehead, then tiptoed my way out of her apartment.

As soon as I was back at my place across the hall, I sat at my laptop and searched for the cheapest plane ticket I could find. There was a flight leaving at 10, which was perfect. It gave me enough time to shower, pack, and get to the airport in time.

I called Tyler, but there was no answer, so I left a message.

"Hey, it's Edward. I'm taking the 10:00 flight out of Sea-Tac so I should get into O'Hare at about 2:30."

I left him my flight information and hung up the phone. I stripped off my clothes and jumped in the shower. I tried to be quick about it, but visions of the previous night came to the front of my brain again. The way Bella's warmth wrapped perfectly and tightly against my cock, the slick feel of her juices against me, was quite possibly the most incredible feeling. So was the way her rosy lips fit around my length, taking me all the way in her mouth, moving back and forth. _Shit._ I was painfully erect, and nothing was going to make Little Eddie at ease. So I brought my hand to my hard cock and started pumping, slowly at first. I imagined that everything I was doing to myself, she was doing to me.

"_Let me take care of that for you," she whispered seductively. She dropped to her knees and stroked the underside of my cock with one finger, eliciting a low moan from me. She was going to tease me, and I loved it._

_She brushed the tip with her thumb and spread the pre-cum that had collected there down my entire length. Her hand fisted around me perfectly, and she began stroking me, slow at first, but then faster and faster._

_I looked down and saw the concentration in her eyes, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. She bit her lip, then used her tongue to lick her lips, and bent down and started sucking and licking her way down my member. It was one of the sexiest things I had ever seen._

"_Shit, Bella," I growled, as she chuckled at the effect she was having on me. The vibrations from her laugh sent waves of pleasure through me and I threw my head back. I was so god damn close to my release, and she knew it._

_Her teeth dragged over my cock, and that did it for me. My eyes flew open and I screamed her name at the top of my lungs._

"_Fuck, Bella!"_

"Fuuuucckkk!" I screamed at my release, my one hand against the shower wall, the other roughly pumping myself as I rode out my orgasm.

I finished the rest of my shower in an orgasmic haze. This Bella had too much of an effect on me. I wanted to get to know her better, to know that she wasn't just a stupid slut, like every other girl I had slept with. Except that one girl…Regardless, I got the vibe that she wasn't like that, but I had to know for sure. I'd only been awake two hours and Bella was on my mind the entire time. What was I supposed to do?

_I'm going to get dressed, and leave for Chicago. Helping Tyler with his dead aunt issues should help. Right?_

Getting out of the shower, I grabbed a black shirt and threw it over my head, and stepped into a pair of jeans and shoes. I ran my hands through my hair and gathered together a few things; I wasn't sure how long I was going to be away. It was a good thing I had a week off from work, or else I wouldn't be able to go. Maybe it would have been a good thing. I could be lying in bed with Bella, maybe enjoying a little morning fun…

_Stop!_

I shook the beautifully dirty thoughts out of my head and zipped up my bag, confirmed my tickets, and headed out the door.

I hailed a taxi and directed him to the airport, all the while still thinking about Bella, and only Bella.

The cab pulled up to the airport, I paid the man and walked inside. I went through a million security screenings, had my bag weighed and sent through the conveyer belt, and checked in at the desk. Everything was right on time, and all I had to do was wait another hour until it was time to board the plane.

I spent the time reading a book I had recently bought, getting really involved in the plot and the characters. It must have been great, because before I knew it, it was time to board, and I hadn't thought of Bella once in that entire hour. _Shit…jinxed myself._

Once on the plane I put my headphones in and read my book the entire way. Of course I couldn't pay attention to the music or the story; Bella was on my mind the whole time. I vowed right then and there to see her as soon as I got back from Chicago, and I hoped that it would be soon.

I bolted right for baggage claim as soon as we landed, found my luggage relatively quickly, and made my way to find Tyler.

He was waiting for me, amongst all the happy family members greeting their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, etc. Tyler was the only one without a smile on his face.

"Hey, man," I said.

"Thanks for coming," he responded.

"No problem."

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure."

We weaved our way through the sea of people and finally arrived at his car. We got in and got on the highway towards the old neighborhood. Tyler still lived on the same street we grew up on.

There was silence all the way. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I wasn't sure if I should comfort him about Aunt Leah, or ask about it, or just make small talk. I wasn't very good in these kinds of situations. However, I was curious as to the sudden passing, so I grit my teeth and went for it.

"So, how did she…I mean, were you guys prepared?"

He shook his head sadly. "She had a stroke. We never saw it coming," he whispered, and kept his eyes firmly on the road.

"Again, I'm really sorry. I liked her a lot."

"Me too…me too."

It took us a half hour to get to his apartment. We took the stairs up to the second floor and stepped into his place, the door labeled 2C.

I set my bag near the couch where I would be sleeping and sat down. He sat next to me and stared at the wall across from us.

"I just need someone around so I don't go crazy. My parents are taking this really hard and I can't rely on them for anything right now. Once I get over the initial shock, I'll be alright."

"I'm off from work all week, so take your time."

"No, I can't take you away for that long, man. Just a day is fine. All I want is to hang out, have a couple of beers with my old buddy, and catch up. Keep my mind off things; allow me to settle," Tyler said.

"You got it," was my reply.

He went to the fridge and brought out a box of leftover pizza and a six pack of beer. We ate the pizza cold, a tradition of ours, with three beers each. It felt like old times again. We talked about what we had been doing since we last spoke six months ago. He was working nights as a police officer, training and working hard so he could rise to the top fast. I told him about the new ad campaign the team I was a part of was working on. He seemed genuinely interested, and our topic started to sway towards our love lives.

"Are you still dating Kate?" I asked him. Tyler met her when he pulled her over for a busted taillight, and the last time we had spoken, things were getting pretty serious.

"No," he shook his head, "she turned out to be a total loon. Sniffing my underwear and shit, talking about weddings…she was creepy as hell."

I laughed, almost spitting the beer out of my mouth.

"It's not funny!" he yelled.

"It is to me," I said, still chuckling.

"What about you? You getting any?" he asked.

"Um, I slept with someone last night."

"Like a one night stand?"

"I don't know. This girl, her name's Bella, moved in across from me yesterday. I helped her with her things, and we had coffee, and then…I don't know what came over me. But it was fucking amazing. _She _was amazing."

"Wow, man. What does she think about this?"

"That's the thing - I have no idea! You called me this morning and I left. I put a note on her pillow and left."

"You…you what? Shit, I totally cockblocked you!"

"Technically, no, because shit already happened."

"Yeah, but I prevented some more major hot sex with this chick! You're going home tomorrow morning. You need to see if this goes anywhere. You haven't had a steady relationship since Jessica in high school. Since then, it's been a few dates or one night stands with some easy slut. Go book a ticket for the earliest flight out of here."

"Tyler, I can't do that to you. I -"

"I'll be fine. You're helping me already, just sitting and talking about normal things with me," he said, cutting me off.

"Are you sure?" I was still unsure.

"Completely."

"Alright, man," I said, and I went over to his computer and searched flights out of O'Hare to Sea-Tac. There was one at five in the morning, but it didn't matter to me. Something in my gut told me to get there as soon as possible, so I made the transaction and was all set to fly back tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the night talking about our past, how we missed things, and how we didn't miss other things. It was good to talk, and I mean really talk, to Tyler. It was a much needed break from everything.

Tyler was to drive me to the airport in the morning, despite my pleas for him to stay. He felt responsible for my taking what he called an unnecessary trip out here, and wanted to pay me back for it by doing me a favor. I gave up fighting him, and he set his alarm for 2 AM. We went to bed at about 11, and before I knew it, it was time to leave again.

I was tired and sluggish and still jet lagged from yesterday's flight, and I was going to get on an airplane again.

The drive over to the airport was short due to the lack of people on the road; normal people weren't even dreaming about getting up at this time.

Pulling into the drop-off area, I bid Tyler farewell, and we promised to stay in touch more. I hoped we would.

I went through the irritating procedures that I had just endured less than 24 hours ago, and boarded the plane at around 4:30. I slept like a baby the entire way. Which was a little unnerving when we landed, since I still had no idea what I was going to say to Bella when I got back to our complex. What time was appropriate? Would she be at work? What the hell day was it, even? A quick glance at my ticket told me it was Sunday. _Maybe she doesn't have to work Sundays. Maybe she'll be home._

I hoped with all my might she would be there. I hailed a taxi and thought about everything I could say. I could tell her that I wanted to get to know her, maybe take her out to dinner one night. Or I could chicken out and not even talk to her. No, I couldn't do that. She'd think I was an asshole, and even though that was true, that's not the impression I wanted to give her. I could confess my feelings that there was a strong connection between us, and ask if she felt it. No, that would be too weird and potentially creepy. I finally settled on knocking on her door and talking over coffee. Maybe I would bring up a possible date later on, but I had to lead into. Slow and steady.

The cab pulled in front of my building and paid the man. I took a deep breath and walked in. The clock above the front desk said it was 11:08 AM, and I figured it wasn't too early to speak with Bella. Maybe she was at church, though…was she religious? Or perhaps she had gone grocery shopping. Didn't people do that on Sunday mornings and afternoons? I cursed the airport as I stepped in the elevator and pushed the '11' button, wishing it hadn't taken forever to get off the damn plane and get my luggage. I could have gotten here earlier.

The elevator doors opened and I was on our floor. I ducked in my room and threw my bag on the floor. Pacing back and forth I ran my fingers through my hair, panicking slightly at what I was about to do. What was so difficult, though? I slept with the woman, surely I could talk to her like a civilized human being? Apparently not, because my throat got all dry at the thought of discussing this with her. I found a bottle of water in my fridge, gulped half of it down, and took another deep breath. I could do this.

I walked out of my apartment, and was met with her door. I rubbed my hands together and breathed deeply. I knocked three times on her door with my knuckles, and waited.

I can do this.

**Will Bella be home? Will she be angry? What will she think when she sees her Adonis in the doorway? Will sweet, sweet, love be made? Tune in next time to find out! **

**Tell me your favorite part, what you want to see next chapter, and your own theories as to what will happen. I love all the support I've been getting, and I thank each and every one of you that reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I seriously love you all. Especially my Beta, Jasmine (BlueFlowerAlways), who is quite possibly the most wonderful person in this entire world. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**EPOV**

There was no answer. I deliberated with myself as to what to do. Was she there? Did she know it was me and didn't want to speak with me? I knocked three times again. Four seconds passed with no answer, and I was just about to leave when the door swung open and my angel was before me.

Bella stood there with a surprised and seemingly delighted look on her face. It was at that point I realized she was clad in only a towel that started right above her breasts and ended a bit higher than mid-thigh. Her brown hair fell over her shoulders, dripping water over the threshold. She clasped her hands to her chest in an attempt to retain some modesty.

"Bella," I whispered, "please don't cover yourself." I took her hands and placed them at her sides. My fingers ghosted up her arms, over her shoulders and across her collarbone. I cupped her cheek and looked into her chocolate brown eyes, trying to convey to her what I wanted; what I _needed_. I wasn't sure if she wanted the same thing as me, and if she was possibly upset at my sudden departure yesterday.

Apparently she wanted me too because she pressed her soft lips lightly to mine, and I took her bottom lip and sucked on it, bringing my other hand to her side and pulling her closer to me. She walked us backward into her apartment and I slammed the door shut with my foot and broke away from our kiss. I brought my hand to the top of her towel and quickly tore it away from her body and let it fall to the floor. The sight of her wet, naked body caused all the blood to rush downwards, and I was becoming harder by the second. What had started out as sweet, soft, kisses, turned into pure animal lust with one drop of a towel. Bella looked so beautiful, so goddess-like standing in her kitchen completely exposed. I made short work of my own clothes so I was standing in nothing more than my boxers.

How I longed to touch her. I couldn't hold myself back so I gripped her close to me and started to lick and nibble her ear, letting my hands trace every curve, every inch of skin she had to offer. She let out a breathy moan as her hands found my dick and grabbed it through my boxers. Her hand felt so good and my erection grew. I needed more from her desperately.

"Get on the table," I demanded, the corners of her lips turning up into a seductive smile as she jumped up on the table. Her breasts bounced and I pounced on her, hovering over her gorgeous body. I attacked her nipple with my mouth, alternating between sucking hard and blowing cool air on it. Her reaction to my ministrations was incredible, her back was arching and more and more moans started to leave her mouth. My fingers found their way to her other nipple and began rolling and pinching them between my thumb and forefinger. She began rubbing her thighs together, searching for some friction that I hadn't been giving her.

I brought my lips close to her ear and whispered, "Do you want me to touch you?"

She nodded her head, the ability to form simple words having left her body.

"Where? Here?" I touched her cheek lightly and she shook her head.

"Here?" I trailed my fingers down her arm and across her stomach.

"No," she breathed.

"You're going to have to tell me where you want me to touch you, Bella. I can't read your mind, you know," I teased. All I wanted was for this seemingly sweet and innocent girl to say something incredibly dirty.

"I need your hands to rub my pussy. I want them all over me and then I want your tongue to fuck me," she managed to get out, and my dick twitched considerably at her words. I would give her what she wanted.

My hand stroked her lower lips and I groaned. She was dripping fucking wet. I moved my hand to rub her clit, and she growled. She wanted more. With a grin I circled her nub faster and faster, bringing my other hand down to trace her entrance with my forefinger. She was writhing on the table and I held her hips down.

"Stay put," I said.

She tried but failed, miserably. Her hips kept bucking upwards as I slipped to fingers into her hot, tight, core. I brought my mouth to her bundle of nerves, putting it between my lips and teeth and sucked greedily. Her grunts became louder and more frequent while I pumped and sucked harder. My teeth grazed her clit and she came screaming.

"Fuuuckkk! Edward!" she cried.

I let her ride out her orgasm until she opened her eyes and they met mine. I brought my fingers out of her and sucked on them, tasting her delicious juices. She sat up and kissed me hard, not bothering to ask for entry to my mouth.

"I want to taste myself on you," she said, and I became aware, yet again, of the problem in my underwear. She looked down and smirked.

"I can help you with that," she said as she stroked me through the fabric again. My Bella yanked the boxers off my body and tossed them aside and her head tilted. She traced a finger on the underside of my cock, using the other hand to gently massage my balls ever so slowly. She was punishing me for before.

"More," I begged, and I knew what was coming even before she said it.

"Tell me what you want. I, also, don't have mind-reading abilities."

"Put your hot little mouth on my cock before I explode."

"I sure hope you do explode. I like the way you taste," she said, and took only the head of my cock in her mouth. She began sucking really slowly, taking only a half inch at a time. I laced my hands through her hair and tried to set a pace, but she resisted. I only hoped that she was building to something.

And she was. Without warning, she shoved my entire length into her mouth and I felt the tip hit the back of her throat and I screamed. I was so god damn close I could feel the tightening in my balls. She knew it, too, and she started to swirl her tongue all around my cock, faster and faster, bobbing her head faster and faster. I was right on the edge and she squeezed my balls and I was done for. I exploded in her mouth and she drank me in, not leaving one drop. She licked her lips seductively.

"So fucking good," she said.

I pushed her back against the table, fully erect again at her words, and I teased her entrance with the tip of my dick. I traced it back and forth across her clit and she threw her head back.

"You want me? Tell me."

"Bury your cock so far in me you'll never be able to get out. I want you to fuck me so hard I'll never walk right again. Please fuck me, Edward, please!" she pleaded, and I could only oblige.

I slammed into her hard and she screamed. I started out very slow, pulling out slow so just the head was in her, then slamming into her again. Her hips flailed wildly and her walls began to clench down on me like a vice. I picked up the pace and thrust into her deeper and deeper. She brought her legs up and wrapped them around me, giving me better access inside her. I kept hitting her sweet spot, and she writhing beautifully underneath me. She was close and I could feel it, and so could she. Her hand snaked around to where we were connected and started to rub her clit, needing to be pushed over the edge. She pinched it and came hard, screaming my name. The sight of her touching herself and the way her walls milked my cock brought me to my release immediately afterwards.

"Unnnhhhhh fuuuuckkkk," we screamed together. My became slower and slower until we were completely immobile. I pulled out of her and stared down at her. She looked a bit embarrassed and awkward, which was hilarious to me since we had just fucked hard. I stepped off the table and helped her down. She shifted uncomfortably in the nude.

"I'll…I'll be right back. I'm just going to go put some clothes on." She started towards her bedroom door, then turned back to me and added, "Don't go anywhere." She blushed faintly and closed her door.

I picked up the clothes from where they had landed, most of which were in the sink. I wiped myself off quickly and stepped back into my boxers and jeans. My shirt was back on and I went over to the couch and sat down, waiting for Bella to come out of the room. I really wasn't used to the situation we were currently in. I either had a relationship, then slept with the girl, or just slept with the girl and never spoke to her again, like a one-night-stand. But with Bella, we slept together twice and didn't know much about each other. I felt this undeniable connection with her and I wanted to stick around. I also wanted to do things right. If she would have me, I wanted to ask her out on a date. I heard the door creak behind me and she shuffled in uncomfortably. She had on a pair of jean shorts that were quite possibly created by the devil himself, and a yellow t-shirt that hugged her curves deliciously. Her hair was still askew from our activities until she put it up into a ponytail. She walked over to me and sat down on the couch, a little too far for my liking.

I turned to her, trying to collect my thoughts. I was about to say something, but she beat me to it.

"I think we should talk," she said with a bit of uncertainty, "about our situation."

"I was just going to bring that up," I responded truthfully.

"It's just that I've never been in this sort of situation before…" she trailed off. She thought she was inexperienced and I was some sort of sex freak that did this sort of thing all the time.

"Neither have I."

"Really?"

"I wouldn't lie to you," I said. And it was true.

She let out a gust of air that I didn't know she was holding. "I'm so glad you said that, Edward. I don't feel like such a loser now," she chuckled.

I scooted closer to her and cupped her cheek in my hand. "You're not a loser."

She blushed and looked down. Then something spread across her face. Realization, then horror.

"I just realized…you never wore a condom either time we…you know."

"Oh my god, Bella, I'm so sorry. I'm such a selfish jerk. I…I feel horribly. It seriously never entered my mind. All I wanted was you, and in turn I forgot the basics. Are you…are you on birth control?" I felt like such a stupid asshole.

"Yes, but have you…well, have you been…you know…tested?"

"Of course, Bella, and I'm clean. I promise."

Another breath was let out. "Phew! Good, me too. I think we should be okay, then. I'll be sure to keep an eye on the…other situation."

"I'm willing to do whatever you are comfortable with if that issue were to arise."

She shifted in her position and twiddled her thumbs. She seemed to have something else on her mind, but was obviously uncomfortable with saying it. I didn't want her to close anything off from me. I wanted her to be open and honest and comfortable in my presence. I took her chin in my fingers and lifted her head up to level with my eyes.

"Please, say whatever is on your mind. Don't feel uncomfortable," I reassured her.

"I was just wondering where we go from here. We've slept together twice, and normally one-night-stands only last one night."

I frowned. "Do you only want this to be a one-night-stand deal?" I sincerely hoped she didn't.

"No," she admitted. "But I can understand if you do. There are so many girls out there that you can have and I get that I'm just a source for a quick release."

I was upset by her words. How could she think that of herself? I wanted nothing more than to be with her, in every way possible.

"Bella, that's not what you are to me. I feel this connection with you…I can't help it if I'm crazy, but it's just the way I feel. I don't want to leave you."

"I feel it too!" She seemed so happy that she wasn't the only one with this confusing emotion. So was I.

"You have no idea how good that makes me feel. It makes it easier to get out what I'm about to say. Bella, I'd really like it if you would go on a date with me. I want to do this right, and I think we have something special, even if I don't know your last name." I chuckled at the last part.

"I would love to," she smiled. "And it's Swan."

Swan. Perfect for a beauty like my Bella.

She stuck her hand out to shake mine.

"Hello, I'm Isabella Swan, but I liked to be called 'Bella.' And who are you?" She seemed more comfortable with me.

"Hi Bella. I'm Edward Cullen, and I don't liked to be called Ed or Eddie." Bella laughed at my introduction and I joined her. It was a nice moment.

It got silent again, and again she seemed like there was something on the tip of her tongue.

"Bella? What did I say? Please, just tell me what you're thinking."

"I just was wondering if I could ask…what happened in Chicago."

"I am so sincerely sorry about that, Bella. An old friend called. His aunt died, he was really close to her and so was I, and he needed someone to be around, and he didn't have anyone else at the time. I might have been there longer if he wasn't such a great friend."

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Well, I told him about you, and he immediately felt bad for 'cockblocking' me. Which doesn't make any sense at all to me, but he insisted that I fly back here, and he even agreed to drive me to the airport before the crack of dawn."

"You told him about me?"

"Of course," I said.

She smiled and took my hand in hers. Her thumbs traced small circles on my hand and she watched the patterns she was making. There was a small frown on her face.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"It's just that you told your friend about me. I didn't tell mine. My friend, Alice, called me the morning of, and I didn't mention you. I think it's just because I didn't want her going on about something that could be possibly nothing. I wasn't sure how you felt yet, and she makes a big deal out of _everything_."

"That's fine, Bella. I understand. But now I hope you do tell her. I want everyone to know that I'm going on a date with Isabella Swan."

"Alright, Eddie. I'll tell her."

We laughed together lightly and she kissed me lightly on the lips. It was so innocent and cute, a big smile spread across my face. I knew I looked like an idiot, but at the moment I couldn't care less. Everything seemed like it would work out.

A big yawn escaped me and I suddenly realized how tired I was. Three hours of sleep, jet lag, and an intense sexing session can wear a person out.

"You need to get some sleep," Bella said. "Go home and get some rest. We'll talk later. Okay?"

"I don't want to leave you," I said, sounding pathetic and needy.

She smiled. "Then don't. You can sleep in my bed, if you'd like. I was just going to the grocery store. I _still _haven't bought any food."

"Stay with me. Nap with me. We'll go shopping later."

"Alright, fine," she teased.

She took my hand and led me into the bedroom, where her soft, comfy, elaborate, canopy bed was calling to me.

We laid down side by side under her silk sheets and comforter. It was so nice and warm. I held her in my arms and placed a kiss on the top of her head. I hummed her a lullaby, and we fell calmly to sleep.

**I hope you all liked that chapter! It was a little difficult to start, but once I did the words just kept flowing and I couldn't stop! If you guessed making sweet, sweet, love, you were sorta right! They did, but it was more like BANG BANG BANG. But awesome, nonetheless. Shout-out to twilightaddict21 for her correct prediction of answering the door in a towel - I love that cliche! It's so great.**

**Reviews make me happier than Edward getting a blowj. Seriously. They also make me update faster ;]**


	5. AN

**A/N: **

**Hey guys! I'm loving your review and am currently working on Chapter 5. But I need your opinion! Where do you want Edward and Bella to go on their first date? I'd like to ****hear what everyone wants to see, plus I'm having difficulty figuring out where **_**I **_**want them to go! You are all incredible, I love each and every one of you. Please stick with me! I ****promise it will be worth it!**

**Raegan Marie**


	6. Chapter 5

**HOLY CRAP GUYS. You're the best! I got an incredible response to Chapter 4 and my AN, and I thank each and every one of you for your suggestions/reviews. Shout out to everyone that reviews consistantly! There's a lot of you and I don't want to mention names because I know I'll forget someone. Special shout-out to Malu Daidoji for being awesome, and to cheermom13 - it makes me happy that I can make you and your boyfriend blush!**

**As always, Jasmine is my fave person on this earth.**

**I definitely promised this chapter for Tuesday or Wednesday, but I avoided all homework just to get it to you quicker! I also was going to split it up and put the date in the next chapter, but I decided you have all been good and deserved it now!**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**BPOV**

I love my life. Seriously. I just had hot, rough, animalistic sex with the most delicious man in the world. Then he tells me he feels a connection with me and wants to date me. And now he's cuddling with me, laying next to me in my not-so-ridiculous-anymore bed. What the hell did I do to deserve any of this?! Whatever it was, I'm glad I did it. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine to be this lucky.

*Grumble*

My stomach started to growl like crazy. I looked over at my clock and saw it was 3:00 PM. I hadn't eaten anything all day! I still had to go shopping, but I didn't want to leave Edward. I just wanted to lay here all day with him. My stomach grumbled again and Edward began to stir. Maybe I wouldn't have to leave him. He rolled over and stretched, yawning. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled.

"I love waking up next to you," he said.

I leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

"You know, you could be a murderer. Now how am I supposed to react to that?"

He looked down and played with the edge of the blanket nervously.

"I'm sorry, Bella. You don't have to try and be with me if you're scared. I'll understand."

"No! You totally misunderstood what I said! I was kidding! True, I don't really know you, but I trust you so much. I guess I'm good at judging people."

His face lit up like Christmas morning. "I'm so glad to hear you say that!" he responded and pressed his lips to mine. I weaved my fingers through his hair and pulled him closer to me. His tongue traced the seam of my lips when my stomach grumbled again.

"Damnit!" I yelled.

"I think we should get you some food. Let's stop at the pizza place on 1st street, then we'll go grocery shopping. That is, if you want to…"

"Definitely," I assured him. We got out of bed and I gathered up my keys and some money. There was something in the back of my head that told me I shouldn't be so lax with him. I really didn't know anything about him. I was a good judge of character, but Alice was better. Then I got an idea…

"Hey, Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?" I loved when he said my name.

"Just give me a second to freshen up and go to the bathroom, okay?"

"Anything." My heart soared.

I ran into my bathroom and quickly dialed Alice.

"Hello?" came Alice's chipper voice from the other end.

"Hey it's me. Listen, could you do me a mega favor? Don't ask too many questions, I don't have a lot of time."

"Sure, Bells, anything."

"There's this guy I'm gonna go on a date with, and I don't really know much about him. I need you to use your people reading skills to see if he's the good guy I think he is."

"You're going on a date?! Oh tell me all about -" I cut her off.

"Alice, I don't have time. Can you be at the Albertsons on Hillcrest in two hours? We're going shopping and I want you to run into us 'accidentally' and I'll introduce you to him. Please, Alice?"

"Anything for you to get some nookie! See you then!" She hung up. Oh, if she only knew the nookie I had been getting…

I stepped out of the bathroom to find Edward waiting for me at the door. He was so breathtaking I could hardly stand it. And he was all mine. For now, at least.

"Ready to go?" he said.

"Lead the way."

We took his silver Volvo to the pizza place. His car was clean and shiny; I liked it a lot, though nothing could compete with my truck. It was my baby. The ride wasn't long enough for us to really get talking, and before I knew it we were getting out of the car and walking into Luigi's Pizzeria. Edward motioned for me to grab us a seat while he ordered four slices for us. The pizza was cooked fairly quickly, and he brought it over to the table and sat across from me.

"Here you go," he said, handing me my two slices.

I bit into the plain cheese pizza, closed my eyes and moaned. It had been way too long since I had eaten something.

"I never thought seeing a woman eat pizza could be so erotic," Edward joked.

I licked my lips and bit down on my bottom lip, looking him straight in the eyes. He groaned at my teasing and I chuckled at his frustration.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Behave, Bella, or I might have to take you right here with everyone watching."

I smiled seductively and winked. "I wouldn't mind an audience," I said.

"Please just eat your pizza. You don't know what you're doing to me."

I decided to let him finish his pizza without a hard-on and behaved like he asked me to. We left Luigi's and got in the car and headed over to Albertsons. I've always love car rides, whether they be five minutes or five hours. It was nice just to look out the window and watch the passing scenery of the city seeing the people of Seattle go about their own lives and own schedules. I was lost in thought when Edward broke the silence.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Yes?" I responded.

"Would you tell me about your family? I'm anxious to hear about you."

It was so sweet that he wanted to start learning about me even before our date. I never liked talking about myself, however, and wanted to ask him everything about his life and his past and his future. But I figured since he asked first I would answer any of his questions. I couldn't deny Adonis anything.

"My mom, Renee, is a total flake, but I love her to death. She loves trying new things, but she doesn't stick with them for very long. She quite possibly has to be the smartest person I know."

Edward looked at me, smiling.

"She sounds like a wonderful person. I hope I have the pleasure of meeting her in the near future."

_He's anticipating a future with you…it's what every girl dreams of in her ideal guy!_

My heart swooned at his words and the fact that, as a guy, he was looking ahead instead of just looking down my shirt.

"I think you'd like her."

"What about your dad? Are your parents together?"

"No, they divorced when I was about a year old. See, they married each other straight out of high school, and never really got to experience the real world. Plus Renee didn't want to be trapped in the small town we were living, so she left with me and we went to Phoenix."

"Where does your father live now?"

"Still in that small town of Forks, Washington. He's the chief of police there. Renee and I lived in Phoenix until I graduated high school, then I went off to college at Portland State University. Renee moved to Portland about a year after with her new husband, Phil, because of the better 'culture' in Portland. That's Renee for you." I chuckled at my crazy mother. I loved her with all my heart.

Edward found a parking spot right in front of the store and he turned the key in the ignition off. We walked across the parking lot when a man's eyes caught mine. He was a few years older than me and he was looking me up and down. I felt a hand on my lower back and looked to see that it was Edward, pulling me closer to him. _He was jealous._ I smiled at his reaction to a guy just looking at me. It wasn't angry and I didn't feel it posed a potential problem. It was harmless, normal, guy jealousy.

"Low-life," he muttered, and I kept on smiling.

I went to grab a cart but Edward beat me to it. I tried to take it from him but he insisted on pushing the cart.

"I can't let a beautiful woman push her own cart, now can I?"

I blushed at his sentiment and looked down at the floor. _This man has such an effect on me…what an amazing guy. _I took my grocery list out of my shorts pocket and looked at the amount of items on it. On any normal day I would have groaned at the amount of time this trip would take me, but today I had Edward Cullen with me. He was gorgeous, incredible in the sack, and he really liked me. He was chivalrous and wonderful and probably a whole lot of other things that I hadn't yet discovered. I was looking forward to every minute of exploring his mind…and body, yet again.

"Let's go over to produce," I said, "and pick up some fruits and veggies."

He gestured in front of him and said, "Lead the way."

I perused through the aisles of produce and picked out a few apples, pears, peaches, carrots, broccoli, and celery.

"I see you like to eat healthy," he said.

"Correction: I like to _eat_. I guess it's because I'm a cook. I'm surrounded by great food all the time, and I know how to make the best. Plus I always get to experiment with new things."

"That's another thing I've learned about you today. Bella Swan's occupation is a cook."

"Yeah, I work at this Calabrese restaurant, Fetta Di Calabria."

"I've heard of it, but unfortunately I've never been. I guess I'll just have to make it a point to stop by."

We started walking over to the bread aisle, when it hit me. We were supposed to run into Alice.

"Edward? I think I forgot something in produce. Can you look for some wheat bread? I'll be right back."

"Sure," he said, and I ran over to produce.

I took my phone out of my back pocket and dialed Alice's number. I wanted to make sure she was here, and then plan for us to run into each other at a certain aisle so we wouldn't totally screw this up.

"Bella! I'm here in the shampoo aisle! Is he here? Is he with you?" was the answer to my phone call.

"Yes! Calm down, Alice. I'm in produce, he's in the bread aisle. Can you meet us over there in like a minute?"

"On it!" and she hung up.

I raced back over to Edward and saw him looking through the different kinds of bread. He had a puzzled look on his face, like he was studying each and every brand and each and every kind of wheat bread. He was genuinely concerned about picking out the right one.

"There's so many!" he exclaimed.

"Here…this one looks fine," I said, picking out a random loaf.

"Did you find what you needed?" he asked.

"What? Oh…no, I didn't really need anything. I thought I did, but I didn't," I stumbled out.

"OH MY GOD!" was the shrill voice I heard at the end of the aisle. Alice.

"Alice?" I questioned innocently.

"Bella! Fancy seeing you here! I just came by to get a few things…you know how Jasper cleans the fridge right out!"

Jasper was Alice's fiancée. He was working on his PhD in psychology at the moment; he was so good at reading and understanding people, and calming them as well. He was a great person to be around. Alice and Jasper had to be the most sickly sweet couple I had ever met in my life. They were pretty much destined for each other, and it was so downright cute…and sometimes utterly frustrating. I longed for a connection like that. Sure, I felt something with Edward, but I couldn't be sure of anything. It could turn out to be a fluke with the drop of a hat, and I didn't want to get my hopes up.

"Whenever I make lasagna he eats an entire tray by himself!" I said.

"Oh…Bella, who's this?" she feigned.

"This is Edward, my neighbor. He lives right across the hall. Edward Cullen, Alice Brandon," I introduced them.

Edward flashed his most brilliant smile and shook Alice's hand.

"It's very nice to meet a friend of Bella's. Bella still doesn't have anything in her fridge, so we decided to go shopping."

"How _thoughtful_," Alice stressed.

I flashed her a warning look, and she took it. I could tell by her face that she was analyzing Edward. She didn't need to talk to him much to get a good idea about him, just a few words and observations of body language and she'd be done.

"Well, I must get back, or Jasper's likely to eat the couch. Bella, I'll call you later. It was nice meeting you, Edward."

"And you, Alice," he returned graciously, and Alice walked off.

"She seems nice," Edward said when she was gone.

"Alice is probably my best friend in this world. She's a hyper little pixie, but I love her to death."

"I can tell," he said. "Where to next?"

"Frozen," I stated. We pushed the cart over toward the frozen aisle together, side by side. I picked out some milk, eggs, cheese, etc. You know, the basics. We spent the rest of our shopping trip talking about random things: the weather, the news, that crazy serial killer that had escaped from an Ohio jail. Although they weren't very personal or revealing conversations, it didn't matter. I didn't feel awkward or strained at all. I felt perfectly at home with this stranger. But I wanted to know more about him. He knew about my family and my job, now it was his turn to answer some questions. After we had gathered all my things and gone through the check out line, I asked him about his family as we were walking back to the Volvo.

"My mother, Elizabeth, is an interior decorator in Chicago. She's a wonderful woman."

"And your father?" I asked.

"He's dead," Edward answered solemnly.

"Edward, I'm so sorry," I said, "I should have never said anything."

"No," he said forcefully, "You couldn't have known. It's okay. I want you to know everything about me."

I gave him an assuring smile and wrapped my arms around his right arm, trying to comfort him a bit.

"He had severe pneumonia, and then he caught a virus that was going around at the time. I was 11. I miss him a lot, but I'm alright. He was an amazing man, and he wouldn't want me grieving over him too much."

We finished packing up the car and drove out of the parking lot.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked hesitantly.

"A sister, Rosalie. She's a few years older than I am. Her and my best friend Emmett are married."

"Wow…did you set them up?"

"No, Rosalie was at a party that Emmett dragged me to. He saw her and was drooling the whole night. And I'm not even exaggerating!" he chuckled. "What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope. I'm an only child."

"What was that like?"

"I didn't really mind it. Renee was able to focus her attention on me when I was growing up, and then when I was older I could take care of her."

Before I knew it we were in the parking lot of our building. We brought the bags up using a few boxes we had taken from the store. I didn't want to make more than one trip to bring the groceries up.

Up the elevator to floor 11, then down a bit and to the right, and we were at my place.

"I'll help you put them away," he said, referring to the groceries. I swooned internally as we stepped into the kitchen and placed the boxes on the table. I smiled at the events that had occurred there earlier and got to work on the groceries. There was a comfortable silence as we put them away, and I started to think about our date. Were we supposed to come up with a place together? Did he already know where he wanted to take me? I decided to actually ask him instead of driving myself crazy.

"Do you," I asked awkwardly, "have any idea of where to go for our date?"

"I do, little Bella," he said.

"Can I know where it is? Or are you going to kidnap me and make me your sex slave until the cops come?"

"Hmmm," he pondered as he walked close to me, snaking his arm around my waist, "That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all…"

The effect he had on me was too much. I breathed out a sigh and closed my eyes to envelope myself in his scent. Then he was gone. I opened my eyes and found him putting the apples away in my fridge.

"Tease," I muttered. He laughed heartily then spoke.

"I was thinking we could order some food from Bella Italia," he started, "and eat it at this little meadow I go to sometimes. What do you think?"

It sounded so beautifully romantic and not at all cheesy, like you would expect. I didn't have the heart to tell him Bella Italia was Fetta Di Calabria's rival, but why the hell did it matter? It's not like I was taking a job from them. Besides, Bella Italia had some great food…

"I like that idea," I said.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at six." The groceries were all put away and I was saddened. He was leaving. He kissed my cheek softly and looked into my eyes.

"See you tomorrow, Isabella." He walked out my door and into his apartment. I loved it when he said my whole first name.

My stomach growled again. I didn't really feel like cooking a big dinner so I made myself a peanut butter sandwich and flopped down on the couch. I ate it in silence, thinking about what had happened today. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach as I thought about the date that would be taking place in less than 24 hours. I started to get nervous thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. He would turn out to be a total weirdo, I would spill something all over myself, I would spit food in his face by accident…I shuddered at the thought. I hadn't been on a date so long, so how was I supposed to act? _Just be yourself_. It was easier said than done. What if he didn't like who I really was? _He's been hanging around you quite a bit and he seems to like you. Don't stress_. I wasn't completely convinced, but I decided to hone in on this one aspect in order to calm down and get some sort of sleep. I would need it for tomorrow night.

*******

I was awoken by sharp raps at my door. I sat up abruptly and the plate from dinner fell on the floor. I rubbed my face and walked over to answer the door. The microwave read 11:34 AM. _I am such a bum. Good thing I don't have work today, or else I'd be totally screwed…_

I opened the door and there stood an unfamiliar old woman with graying hair and a cat under her arm.

"I'm Sue," she stated bluntly.

"Nice to meet you," I lied, "I'm Bella Swan."

"Yeah I heard we had a new tenant. I've been away visiting my dying mother so I didn't get to introduce myself when you first got here."

"Oh," I said lamely. What else was I supposed to say to that?

"I want to lay down the law, here. There is no drinking, drugs, smoking, partying, sexing of any kind, do you understand? I won't hesitate to break up any whoopee sessions."

"I completely understand. You shouldn't have any problems with me," I said, thoroughly hoping she wouldn't, yet at the same time hoping she would, since that would mean more 'whoopee' sessions with Edward.

"Yeah we'll see," and she left for her apartment.

I closed the door. _What a weirdo._

Just then my cell rang. It was Alice, of course. Who the hell else calls me…ever?

"Bella! Oh my god I love Edward sooooo much! Can I date him? Do you think Jasper would mind?"

"Slow down! Geez, you put the energizer bunny to shame."

"I'm just so excited!"

"Tell me what you thought of him."

There was a pause. "He's extremely charismatic, but genuinely so. He's not trying to manipulate or cover anything up. I can tell he's intelligent, and very wise. Very chivalrous. He's going to protect you no matter what. Oh, and his body! Have you _seen_ his body? I can tell he's got some killer abs. And those shoulders! He's a great catch, Bells. I'm very jealous."

"I'm so glad! I would just die if I had to go on a date with a creeper."

"Speaking of the date…when is it? Where are you going?"

"It's tonight. He's picking me up at six. And he's ordering food from Bella Italia and then taking me to a meadow to eat."

"OH MY GOD! That is _soooooo _romantic! Bella, I'm almost crying! I'm so happy for you! You think you're gonna get some tonight? I hope you do! You need it!"

I wondered about that too. We already slept together twice. I never put out on the first date, but would this be any different? Did he normally have sex on the first date? Did he expect us to? Or would this be an innocent first date because of our history?

"There's something I should tell you," I said. "I…already slept with him. Twice."

"WHAAAAAATTTT?!?!??!? Isabella Marie Swan how could you have left this huge detail out?!?!?!"

"I didn't want to say anything because of this reaction!""Why…when…how…where…gah!?!?"

"Moving day. He helped me out and we had coffee. Then he kissed me and I basically jumped him. The next day he was gone because he had to help a friend in Chicago, and when he came back yesterday morning we just…did it again." My explanation was lame, but I didn't want to explain the gory details and the very personal feelings.

"Bella, who are you? That's definitely not you. He must be amazing."

"He is…" I trailed off.

"I'm coming over there, Bella. I need to prepare you for your date. God knows you'll pick out some ridiculously casual outfit."

"Alice, I don't need -"

"Hush, Isabella. You need me. I'll be over there at two. See you later!"

I hung up the phone and shrugged. There was no way I was going to be able to fight the pixie, so I made the decision not to make a big deal about it. I made myself an egg and some toast for breakfast and ate while I watched the news. The serial killer was supposedly last seen in Indiana. I shivered at the thought of him ever coming here.

There was literally nothing for me to do. I paced the room, running my hands through my hair out of restlessness. I settled on taking a shower to get myself nice and clean and to pass some time.

The hot water was comforting and I was glad for it. It put me a little at ease while still maintaining the excitement and nervousness of a first date.

I stepped out of the shower and brushed my teeth thoroughly when I heard a knock at the door. _That'll be Alice._

I answered the door and it was.

"Bella! Good, I was going to tell you to shower but you already did. Good girl!" She pushed past me with several bags, boxes, hangers, etc. She had a whole beauty salon with her, I swear.

"I brought some clothes and makeup over. I am so excited for this!"

I looked through the bag that said "Victoria's Secret."

"What is this?""Lingerie, silly. You've already gotten past the sex, so you need to be prepared to do it again!"

"I dunno if we will, Alice." She threw me a look. "But I'll put them on just in case." There was no point in arguing.

I went into my room and slipped into the simple black thong and bra set. _At least she didn't go overboard. She's probably building up to some crazy lace dominatrix outfit…great._

She burst into my room with several hangers on her arms.

"Perfect! Now, try this on…"

"That's a mini skirt! We're going to a _meadow_, Alice, not a club!""Fine, fine. How about this one?"

She showed me a dark blue sundress that was perfect for this weather. It had thick tank straps and cut straight across, right above my breasts for a tiny bit of cleavage. It tied at the waist, accentuating my curves, and fell right above my knees. It was perfect.

"Finally you're being reasonable!" I exclaimed as I took it from her and put it on.

"Perfection! Now, put these shoes on…"

I expected crazy heels, but she must have gotten my message about the meadow, because she handed me these espadrilles that tied two inches up my calf, and the wedge was only about two inches as well. Alice knew her stuff.

"Let's go get your hair done!"

We moved in front of my vanity mirror where she had set up several hair products. She tugged and brushed and pulled at my hair for what seemed like an hour, until she finally settled on loose curls. They fell softly at the front of my breasts, and I knew it would drive Edward wild. I felt the butterflies floating around again in my stomach and I got more excited.

She moved to my face to put my makeup on. When she was done, I looked like me, but different. Like Bella 2.0. I had very light, natural blush on with a natural lip gloss. She created a smokey effect on my eyes and did wonders for my eyelashes with mascara.

She dusted herself off, obviously pleased.

"I'm awesome," she said.

"I can't disagree with you," I said, "You made me look hot."

"You were already hot, Bella. You just don't know how to play that up. Luckily you have me for a friend. Imagine if it was only Angela? She would have told you to wear jeans! What a silly girl!"

Angela was our mutual friend. She was an artist and such a wonderful person. Angela, like me, was very casual and not very good with men. Alice always joked that we were separated at birth. It was always very relaxing being around Angela and I enjoyed her company. She was in Portland for a few months promoting some of her latest works. I would have to tell her about this when she got back.

"Okay, Bella. It's 5:43. I'm gonna go so I don't intrude, but good luck! I know you'll have a great time. Here, take this small bag. You can't put your cell and lip gloss and gum or whatever in it. I love you! Call me later! Unless you're too busy doing the dirty!" She laughed and made her way out after a big ol' hug from me.

17 minutes to go. I started pacing again, almost dying of anxiety. I turned the news on for a few minutes, but the serial killer's face made me sick, so I turned it off.

12 minutes to go. Again I was pacing. I was going to go insane! I decided to walk up and down the hall once, just to get it out of my system. What I saw caught me off guard. It was Edward, pacing back and forth in front of our doors, just as I had been doing in my room.

"Edward?" I asked.

He looked at me and stared. His eyes traveled from my eyes, down over my breasts and down to my feet, then back up again.

"You look stunning," he said, almost speechless.

"Thanks," I said, looking down at the ground. I looked back up and saw what he was wearing. He had on a light blue button up shirt with the top two buttons open, exposing his delicious, pale chest. He had on a pair of dark jeans and dusty, worn boots. He looked absolutely mouth-watering.

"What are you doing out here? You said six, right?" I asked.

"I was…going stir crazy. I've been sort of….counting down the hours, minutes, seconds."

"Me too! Edward don't even worry about it, that's why I came out here. I couldn't stand being trapped in my apartment."

His eyes lit up and he smiled crookedly.

"I ordered us both mushroom ravioli. Is that alright?"

"It's my favorite," I said truthfully.

He held his arm out for me. "Shall we?"

I took his arm and we walked down to the Volvo. He opened the door for me like a perfect gentleman, and we made our way to Bella Italia. He was in and out quickly and he brought our food out. It smelled delicious.

"The meadow is only a few minutes from here," Edward told me.

I nodded and got excited as we approached our destination. We pulled over at a dead end street where the asphalt met a grassy area.

"It's just beyond the trees," he said as he opened the door for me.

He got a basket out of his trunk and led the way to the meadow. We walked through the forest for a couple minutes until we arrived at the clearing. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. There were flowers in full bloom everywhere and a waterfall across the way. It was so green and full of life.

"It's beautiful," I said, and Edward set a blanket down for us to sit. He opened the basket again and brought out plates, utensils, glasses, and some wine. He dished out our dinner and it was still steaming hot and smelled so good. He poured us both some wine and raised his glass to make a toast.

"To a backwards first date!"

"Cheers to that!" I responded as we clinked glasses and drank.

I started to eat and it felt so good as the hot ravioli ran down my throat.

"This is so good. No wonder Bella Italia is our rival."

"It is?"

"Yes, we're constantly trying to steal their customers. This ravioli is delicious!"

"Not as delicious as you right now," he said, making me blush.

"I'd like to know more about you, Edward Cullen. First off, how old are you?"

"26. And you, Isabella?"

"I'm 25. What is it that you do for a living?"

"I work at the Worktank advertising agency. I do some web designing, advertising, all that kind of stuff. Not very interesting, but I like it. I also write a little bit on the side."

"Writing the great American novel?" I joked.

"Not quite. Just some fiction that pops in my head. Hopefully I'll get published one day. But for right now it's just a hobby."

"I'd love to read some of your work sometime.""Maybe," he said. "If you'd like to stick around."

"We'll see," I played. "Where did you go to college?"

"The University of Illinois."

"Nice school. Did you like it there?"

"Yeah, me and Tyler had a great time. I didn't party much, though. It's not really my style."

"Is Tyler your friend that you helped out the other day?"

"Yeah, that's him. We've been buds since the beginning of time, basically. What about your friends? I've already met Alice, who is delightful, by the way."

"Alice and I are friends with Angela, an artist. She's in Portland right now. She's more like me. Laid back, casual, _not _the energizer bunny," I laughed.

I finished the last of my mushroom ravioli and glass of wine. He was finished as well and we talked some more about our pasts. What we did in high school, anecdotes from our childhood and teen years. It flowed so freely and it felt so right. I felt comfortable around him, and I finally knew him. Really knew about him. I truly hoped there was another date in the future.

I scooted closer to Edward and put my head on his shoulder as he started to hum. It was a peaceful moment. He brought his hand up to traces circles across my hand and forearm. His touch sent a spark through my veins and I looked up into his green eyes. I bit my lip and my eyes danced from his mouth to the brilliantly dazzling orbs staring at me. I leaned it and pressed my lips softly against his. He moved his lips with mine in a familiarly wonderful motion and I sucked on his bottom lip. His tongue darted out to trace the seam of my lips and a opened for him willingly. I plunged my tongue into his mouth forcefully and swirled his tongue with mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me close to him before laying me down on my back.

He was pressed up against me as I massaged my hands up and down his chest. He pulled me closer and I could feel his constricted arousal through his pants. It made me happy that I had such an effect on him. My hand found its way to his erection and I grabbed him through his pants and he hissed.

"Bella," he moaned, "I want to take things a bit slow. You know, like normal people?" he chuckled.

I immediately felt like a horny idiot. I sat up abruptly and blushed.

"I'm sorry. I was a moron."

"No you're not! I want you so bad. You're tempting me with that dress of yours, and you _know _it's my favorite color. Your breasts look so sexy in it…I just want to take you right here and hear your moans echo throughout the forest. But I'm trying to do things right. Don't feel badly. I know I'm going to regret this later but I think it's best."

"Are you sure it's just not me?""Not at all, Isabella. You are so enchanting."

I smiled. "I'm glad. This is a really beautiful place. I'm glad you took me here."

He looked at his watch. It was late and I took it as a signal that we had to leave.

"We must leave, Bella. It's 10:30 and I feel rather nervous being out here in the woods with you alone."

"Afraid you'll make me your sex slave?"

"That _is _one thing," he joked, "But I'm getting nervous about that serial killer. Let's go home."

"Okay," I said, and we wrapped up our picnic items and walked out of the meadow to his car. He opened and closed the door for me again, and we drove off in the moonlight.

"You know what's been puzzling me?" he asked.

"What?"

"Why Sue never barged in on us. We were _pretty _loud. Especially you."

"Well I can't help if I go crazy when you touch me," I said. "I got a visit from her today. She told me she's been away visiting her dying mother. She told me the rules and told me the same thing she told you about the whoopee."

"I guess we'll have to keep it quiet next time," he said. My heart leapt at the prospect of a next time.

Too soon he pulled into the parking lot and walked me up to my apartment. With my back against the door I looked at him. I knew he wasn't coming in because of what he said earlier, but I hoped. He must have read my thoughts because he chuckled and said, "Not tonight, Isabella. This is an innocent first date, remember?" He laughed again and took my hand, placing a soft kiss on it. My butterflies returned and he watched me as I stepped inside.

"Until tomorrow," he said, "adieu." I shut the door with a sigh.

**I really really hope you all liked this chapter! It was a killer to get out, but it's out. As always review! They are so encouraging and I honestly would probably poop out on this story if I didn't have amazing readers like you all. Reviews are sexier than Edward's shoulders, and they also keep the serial killer away from Seattle.**

**To mashimaro401 - I realized that Sue WOULD have basically murdered them for their whoopee noises, and hope that her little appearance/explanation cleared it up. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!**


	7. Chapter 6

**I love you guys more than life itself, I swear! All your reviews just totally make my day. This wasn't Beta'd, so I apologize for any and all mistakes.**

**Featured shout out of the week to: Edward Cullens true luv! You're so great - I love your reviews and how you basically tell me my story is the best in all of FF. Thanks so much for the support :] Check out her story "Surgeon Bella." The prologue is up now, and I'm her Beta!**

**I got a few comments about Edward's taking things slow. I know you all want them to get it on, believe me, so do I! But I can't make Edward do anything he doesn't want to do. I have arguments with him in my head about it. Don't worry, his self control is slowly wearing away...and me likey ;]**

**As always, Jasmine is my favorite, and Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**BPOV**

I was floating on Cloud 9 laying in my bed Wednesday morning. The covers were pulled up to my chin and I was grinning like a moron staring up at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep at all last night because of the excessive smiling and internal squealing I was doing. I guess the only word for what I was doing, would be 'swooning.'

And I was. Last night had to be the most amazing and romantic date I've ever been on. The execution, the thought process, and Edward being such a gentleman was just too much for the teenage girl inside of me to handle. Of course, there was the dark side of me that just wanted Edward to fuck me right in that meadow and forget everything. But he was sweet, and he was right. Because of how we had started this 'relationship,' we should probably take it slow. There was also the pessimistic half of my brain that was yelling at me, telling me that he wanted to 'take it slow' because he found spending actual time with me completely repulsive. But that didn't make sense, because if he didn't like spending time with me then all he'd want was a quick lay and then he'd drop me. I was so confused! I really wished I could stab my brain with a sharp object.

As much as I wanted to lay in bed all day and swoon, it was time to go back to work. My boss had given me the weekend off to move, Monday we're closed, and Tuesday is my regular day off. Having a big long break from work was like having one from school; great while it lasts but it only makes it more difficult to go back. So, rather regrettably, I dragged my body out of bed and over to the shower to get ready for work.

The lathering of soap and hot water cascading over me calmed me down from my overexcited state and I started to look forward to work. It had been a while, and all I really wanted to was just cook. It would keep my mind off Edward and in perspective.

After I showered and got dressed, I went in the kitchen and made myself a feta cheese omelet and hash browns. Cooking really soothed me. I was the only person in the house that could cook when Renee and I were living in Phoenix, so it was something I got to do all the time. Surprisingly I didn't get tired of it; on the contrary, I took to it like a fish takes to water. From an early age I knew I wanted to be a cook.

I sat down with my breakfast and ate slowly, really enjoying in all the savory tastes. The clock said 9:41 - I still had some time until my shift started at 12:30. So I decided to take my time eating, then went over to my laptop to pay some bills.

Again I was getting really restless and I didn't know what to do with myself. This had been happening more often since I had met Edward. I always felt jumpy and needed to be around him. When Edward was near me, I felt calm. Obviously I was nervous about behaving around this god, but he had this calming factor about him. I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Maybe it wasn't him at all. Maybe it was something that I had always needed, and it was finally here in the form of the most beautiful man on earth.

After going through the ridiculously long and irritating process of paying bills online with a slow computer, I gathered up my things for work. Since the weekdays were usually not a very busy time for the restaurant, I brought one of my favorite books along with me, _Wuthering Heights_. I figured between cooking I could catch a bit of reading. I made sure I had everything with me, then set out my door and down to the elevator.

"Bella!" someone called after me. I knew who it was. How could I mistake that velvety voice for anyone else than Edward?

I turned around to see a disheveled Edward in blue and green plaid pajama pants and a sinfully snug wife beater tee. He had obviously just gotten out of bed and his hair was messier than usual. Correction: it was _sexier_ than usual. His pectoral muscles strained against the white fabric and his delicious shoulders were perfectly accentuated. I think at one point I started drooling.

"Hi," I managed.

"Going to work? Can I walk you to your car?" he asked.

"Sure," I nodded. I cocked my eyebrow at him when I saw his feet. He was wearing the most elderly looking slippers I had ever seen in my life. "Nice slippers," I teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm 85 years old. Do you want to be late to work?"

I continued laughing all the way down the elevator and to my truck.

When we arrived at the cab, I asked him something that had been troubling me since I saw him running after me down the hallway.

"How did you know I was leaving at that moment, going to work?"

"I…uh…well, I heard you, of course."

"You _heard_ me? What, am I that loud?"

"No! No, of course not. Ugh…okay, don't be creeped out, alright?"

I got nervous all of a sudden, but I just nodded my head in agreement.

"I…I called the restaurant and asked about your schedule. I wanted to find the right opportunity to sort of nonchalantly ask you your phone number…"

Edward freaking Cullen actually went out of his way to see me in the morning, just so he could nervously ask for my number after having _slept_ with me _twice_. Shit, could this guy get any better?

"Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but you could have just asked me, you know," I said, taking his phone and putting my number in it.

"It's nerve racking!" he said.

"You had sex with me twice, you big goofball!"

"It's not the same," he muttered, feigning hurt.

We finished exchanging numbers and I looked at my watch: it was 12:08.

"Crap," I said, getting into the truck, "Edward, I would really love to stay and talk with you, but I have to get to work. Call me later, maybe?"

"Definitely," he said, watching me as I drove away.

I looked in my rear view mirror to see Edward still standing in the lot, waiting for me to be out of sight. He was staring after me, then at his cell phone, smiling. I felt so giddy as I floored it to work, realizing that exchanging numbers was the next step in our relationship. Okay, not really 'relationship' yet, if ever, but still.

I pulled into the lot of Fetta di Calabria and came in through the back employee entrance. I said hello to my boss, clocked in, and got my apron and chef hat on.

As I was doing this, one of the other chefs arrived. His name was Jacob Black, and he was freakishly tall, had russet colored skin and jet black hair that was slightly longer than the average cut. I dated him for a while last year; I never usually dated a coworker (it was sort of a rule of mine) but at the time he seemed so irresistible, and I hadn't really dated in a while. So I gave him a shot. Needless to say, he was a horrible lay and very childish. I broke it off after a month but he wouldn't stop bothering me. Making lewd, but harmless, comments and begging for another chance. Today wasn't any different.

"Hey babe, lookin' fine," he called after me.

"Jake," I acknowledged him indifferently.

He motioned to the front of his pants and made a very lewd gesture.

"Want some of this, babe? I know you liked it."

"Hardly," I said, and I tried staring at the wall in front of my work station. _This is going to be a long day._

Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my pants pocket. I took it out to see who it was. It was a text from Edward.

_Have a good day at work._

_Hope it's not too stressful._

_I'll be missing you._

_- Edward_

I sighed and smiled in adoration at the text message. He said he was missing me! It was almost too good to be true. I texted him back a thank you.

_Thanks, I miss you too._

_- Bella_

"What are you grinning at, Swan?" came the voice of my boss, Mr. Banner.

"Nothing, sir," I responded, tucking my phone away quickly.

"Well get ready, we've got a party of 12 coming in for a birthday at one o'clock. I need everyone on deck. That means you, Jake."

The cooking staff was comprised of a head chef, Garrett, the su chef, me, and two regular chefs, Jacob and Benjamin. There were a few other floaters that came and went, but this was the core staff. Of course, I was the only girl, and it sucked most of the time. Large parties weren't uncommon in our restaurant; Italian families are big and they tend to extend their families to close friends. But 12 people right off the bat was a little daunting.

_I guess I won't be taking a break to read anytime soon…_

And so the long day began. The party of 12 ordered two of almost everything on the menu. Daunting, indeed. We worked feverishly over the stoves making bulk amounts of manicotti, ravioli, antipasto, chicken marsala, and so much more. Then a few more people came in from a different party, and apparently they had a huge appetite because they were ordering massive quantities of food. By the time 4 o'clock rolled around, the crowd had faded out. There were only two parties of two, and they were pretty calm and slow. I was able to take a break while the rest of them took care of the food.

I sat outside to get away from the heat and massive amounts of ricotta and checked my phone for any missed calls or texts. There was one from my Adonis.

_I wish you were here with me._

_- Edward_

A smile spread across my lips as I thought of all the things we could be doing if I was with him, and where we could be doing them, repeatedly…

_Me too. But what did you have in mind?_

_- Bella_

I breathed in the fresh air and was greeted a minute later by another text from Edward.

_You are a vixen, Bella._

_But I shall not succumb to your temptations!_

_- Edward_

I laughed out loud at his response and decided to play with him a bit. I needed a bit of fun.

_That isn't fair, Edward. _

_I would succumb to any of _your_ temptations easily._

_- Bella_

My phone buzzed quicker this time. It was on.

_That's because you have less self control than I do._

_Mine is wearing thin, however._

_I keep imagining you in that blue dress…_

_- Edward_

So he was thinking about me, eh? Well I could do better than that. He needed to be all hot and bothered, begging for me to be there with him.

_Don't you mean you're imagining me _out _of that blue dress?_

_- Bella_

A slight pause, and then a response.

_Careful, Bella. _

_I might come over there and make you my sex slave in another minute._

_- Edward_

My lips curled up into a smile.

_I fully hope so._

_Need to get back to work._

_I'll still be thinking of you ;]_

_- Bella_

I went back inside with the triumphant feeling of making this god crumble over a few text messages and made myself a sandwich with mozzarella, roasted peppers, lettuce, and balsamic vinegar. It was a quick fix before a frozen dinner when I got home around 11.

After I finished with my lunch, I worked nonstop until about 9:30. The last party left, and since we closed at 10, we assumed no one else would be coming. We packed up our things and Banner sent us home before closing up. Jacob had to give it one last try today, of course.

"Wanna come back to my place, Bella?"

"No, Jake. Goodnight," I responded, rather exasperated.

He sped off in his car, defeated.

In what seemed like hours I finally pulled into the parking lot and went up to my apartment. I stumbled in and my stomach alerted me to the fact that I hadn't eaten since four; it was now 10. I popped a frozen macaroni and cheese dinner into the microwave and took off my shoes, exhausted.

The microwave signaled its completion of cooking my terribly artificial meal, and I sat on the couch and ate it in three minutes. I cleaned up my mess and was about to go sink into bed when my phone buzzed with a text message.

_I know you're home (no, I'm not a stalker) and you're probably already asleep. _

_Just wanted to say goodnight to a beautiful woman. _

_Goodnight, Isabella._

_- Edward_

I texted him back with a smile before I passed out.

_You're too much._

_Goodnight, Edward._

_- Bella_

And with that, I threw my phone on the counter, shuffled to my bed, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

The rest of the week went on like this. Ridiculous hours at the restaurant, flirty texts with Edward, and passing out in a plate of some frozen meal. Pretty much like a lather, rinse, repeat deal. Friday and Saturday are our busiest days, and I was going on complete overdrive those two days. I seriously thought I was going to die of exhaustion.

Then came Sunday. We're only open until six on Sunday, because traditionally (at least with the Calabrese) Sunday dinners occur around two in the afternoon. We like to stick to tradition.

I was coming back from my shift Sunday evening when I got to my door and saw a note attached to it. I took it off and read it.

_Bella,_

_I know it's been difficult for you all week. I feel like such a bum having been on vacation this week, sitting on my ass like a…well, bum. I'd like to you to be at my apartment at 7:30 for dinner. You deserve to be pampered. Besides, I'm a selfish bastard and need to see you. Until then, beautiful._

_- Edward_

My heart leapt and then sunk.

_I look like a total scrub right now!!_

I ran into my apartment like a banshee and showered faster than a jackrabbit on a hot grill in August…or something like that. Jasper's Southern phrases always confused me…

I bolted into my room all dried off in a towel, and then realized: I had no clue what to wear. Alice wasn't here to help me, and she didn't have enough time to come over here. I didn't even have enough time to call her! I had 40 minutes left to get ready, and I had no idea what I was doing. I sifted through my closet and was met with jeans, jeans, and more jeans! I wasn't looking for a ball gown, but perhaps something less grimy and casual than jeans. Finally I came across a white skirt that flowed to my ankles. I put on a pair of flip flops and a light blue t-shirt. I figured it was casual while being a little dressy but not too much so. I pulled my hair up into a bun and used what makeup skills Alice taught me and applied a light amount of black eyeliner and mascara, along with a soft touch of blue eye shadow and a light gloss on my lips. Deciding there was nothing more that I could do with myself, I looked at the clock. 7:23. _Perfect._

If our first date said anything, it would be that he was just as anxious and nervous about this as I was, and that he wouldn't mind my getting to his place a little early. I locked up my door and knocked on his. A few seconds later, Edward answered the door in a pair dark slacks and a gray button down shirt which had, as always, the top few buttons open and the ends of the shirt hanging loosely outside of his pants. _Talk about perfection…_

"Come in," he said.

I stepped over the threshold and into his apartment where I was greeted with the most romantic sight. His kitchen table was set with beautiful china atop a blue tablecloth. A bottle of red wine sat on the table in front of two wine glasses. A deliciously mouthwatering scent filled the room and consumed me. I wondered what he was making for dinner, and was anxious to see his cooking skills. I was also dead starving, but that's besides the point.

"Why don't you sit?" He pulled the chair out for me and I sat down, looking around with a mesmerized look on my face.

"This is very nice, Edward. You didn't have to do this," I said.

He scooped some tossed salad onto the appropriate plate and added a dressing that I selected.

"Yes I did. You've been slaving away all week. You need a break."

"I really appreciate it."

We sat down and chatted while we ate our salad. He had just the right blend of vegetables and fruit and dressing. I couldn't wait to see the main course. A timer went off and he pulled a pan out of the oven.

"It was done a few minutes before you arrived…I just wanted it to stay warm until you got here and we had finished our salad."

He appeared at my side and put a beautiful piece of steak on my plate. There was garlic salt and different kinds of spices and it was cooked to the perfect color. Next he scooped onto my plate the fluffiest and most delectable mashed potatoes I had ever seen. He added a tiny bit of butter and went over to his own plate to serve himself.

"I figured," he said as he sat down, "you might want a break from Italian food."

"Good thinking. It's rare that I get to eat a good steak. It's pasta all the time," I responded.

I cut a piece of my steak while Edward poured me a glass of wine. As soon as the meat hit my tongue I moaned. It was savory and had so much flavor; it wasn't tough like leather, but it wasn't soft like lamb. It was absolutely perfect.

"Oh my god," I moaned, "this is so delicious. Mmmmm."

"I take it you're enjoying the meal?" said Edward.

I just nodded my head as I shoveled a forkful of mashed potatoes into my mouth. I couldn't talk when this scrumptious food was clouding my senses. I swallowed whatever food was in my mouth and finally spoke.

"Edward, you're an incredible cook! Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"My grandmother. She was the best. She used to give me lessons every Sunday afternoon."

Another forkful of mashed potatoes went in my mouth and I felt a bit miss my mouth and stick to my lip. I darted my tongue out to catch it. I looked over at Edward whose jaw had dropped a few inches.

"What?" I asked.

"You're too enticing for your own good. Your tongue, Bella. Unnhhhh…"

I pulled one corner of my mouth up into a half smile, going for something real slick and sultry.

"You mean when I do this?" I asked as I licked my top and bottom lips.

"I'm warning you, Bella…" he trailed off.

I bit my lip and smiled innocently. He groaned and shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he poked at his steak with his fork.

I giggled and we finished our dinner without any seduction attempts. I figured it would be for the best; giving Edward a case of blue balls would be very rude.

We finished up and Edward cleared the table like a gentleman. He wouldn't even let me help, claiming, like he did in the letter, that I needed to be pampered. Tonight was about me. _If it was _really _about me then he'd let me jump his bones hard…_

After everything was cleaned up we sat over on his couch with our glasses of wine. He wanted to know more about me.

"I know this subject is a sort of taboo for dates, but I wanted to ask you about your past relationships and sexual encounters. I feel it's important to know, and I think we're past all the formalities."

I was definitely not expecting that, but I didn't have a problem with letting him know. I wasn't totally inexperienced, but I wasn't a slut either.

"My first boyfriend was the first person I slept with. Mike and I dated our whole senior year of high school and our freshman year of college. He started getting kind of stupid and clingy so we split."

He nodded, signaling me to continue.

"During college I went on a few dates. Nothing really major. I never went as far as I did with Mike. Except I got really stupid drunk my senior year of college and had a one-night-stand with this accounting major, Eric. He was so greasy…" I shuddered at the terrifying memory.

Edward chuckled a bit and I went on.

"The last person I was with was my coworker, Jacob. We dated for about a month last year and I slept with him. And then came you. That's my entire history. It's _your _turn now."

"Well," he cleared his throat, "I had one girlfriend throughout high school, Jessica, and we had sex. We wanted to go separate ways for college so we broke up after graduation. Then in college I sort of had this on and off girlfriend/booty call, Tanya. She was a real creep though. I know it's gross but sometimes I needed a good lay. I'm not proud of it. And then I had a one-night-stand…I can't remember her name but I wasn't in my right mind at the time and ended up leaving her without an explanation. Again, I'm not proud of what I did."

I stared at him in disbelief. "That's it?"

"What, were you expecting?" he asked sincerely.

"I was expecting you to have to start counting on your toes because there weren't enough fingers left! And then pull out a list that was so long it rolled all the way down to the floor!"

"So, in short, you expected me to be a manwhore?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" It sounded so bad when he said it like that. "You're just so gorgeous…and, well, fuckable, I just figured you had been with a lot of girls."

"Look who's talking, Miss Vixen. I'm surprised you didn't have the entire United States army!"

We joked about each other's sex lives and divulged information about each of our partners. Then Edward got up and went over to the fridge and took out a piece of chocolate cake.

"Dessert," he said simply.

He got a fork out of one of his cutlery drawers and made his way back over to me on the couch.

"I'm going to feed you," he said seriously.

He scooped a small portion of the cake onto the fork and held it to my lips. I opened my mouth and ran it over the fork and took the cake with me. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back, moaning. Chocolate was a weakness of mine, and this was definitely the best I had ever had. I licked my lips free of all the chocolate and I heard a moan in front of me. Edward was looking the way he did during dinner when I pulled this routine. I smiled and took the fork from him, feeding him a piece of the cake. A little bit of chocolate was left on the corner of his mouth. I leaned in closer to him and licked it up, tasting his sweet skin along with the sweet chocolate.

"Delicious," I said.

Before I knew it I was laying on my back with Edward on top of me, panting. The plate with the cake had been discarded somewhere on the floor, probably a mess. He crashed his lips to mine and licked the chocolate from my lips. He plunged his tongue into my mouth and we sucked on each other's tongues, hands flying everywhere. I ran my fingers through his messy hair and pulled gently, eliciting a groan from him. _So he likes it when I do that…_

His hands traveled up and down my body, cupping my breasts through my shirt while our tongues danced and fought with each other. I hitched my leg up around his waist, bringing us closer. He slipped his hand underneath my skirt and massaged my leg up and down at an alarmingly slow rate. I released my mouth from his; I was running out of breath. I wanted to keep the contact going so I kissed and sucked down his jaw line. I gasped when his fingers started playing with the elastic band of my panties. In less than a second Edward had sat back up and looked a little…what was the word? Upset maybe? There was a tent starting in his pants and he pouted.

"I almost lost it, Bella."

"What are you talking about?"

"I want to take it slow, and instead all I could think about was taking _you _slow on this couch."

I sat up and gripped his chest. "I don't mind," I said.

"Neither would I, believe me." He motioned to his pants and chuckled. "But I want to do this right. I know it might be stupid but I think it's important."

"I totally understand. You're so different, Edward. That's one of the things I really like about you."

"So…you want to see me again?"

I smiled. "Definitely."

He let out a big gust of breath. "Phew. I'm glad."

I went to pick up the cake that had fallen on the floor in the heat of our passion but he stopped me.

"You're _still _not allowed to clean up, Bella."

I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the couch as I watched him put the plate in the dishwasher and clean the rug. After a few minutes of straightening up he joined me back on the couch.

"Will you let me take you out again?"

"Of course, silly," I said, playfully swatting his arm.

"Good." He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I cupped his cheek, deepening the kiss before pulling away.

"As much as I would like to stay and continue this, I have to get to bed. I'm so exhausted; I could quite possibly pass out right on your face. Although you might like that…"

"I probably would, and that's a dangerous thing. Would you…uh, never mind."

"Ask me! Come on," I pleaded.

"Would you like to sleep over?" he rushed. "Since you're already so tired, I think it's a good idea. Besides, I like waking up next to you."

I smiled and nodded my head. He let me go into the bathroom and brush my teeth; he had an extra. I went to the bathroom and let my hair down. I didn't have anything to wear to bed, and I felt slightly uncomfortable with asking him for some pants. So I just took my skirt off and folded it, placing it on the bathroom counter. I washed off some of the makeup on my face; enough so it wouldn't bother me and smear but not too much so I looked like a hideous beast. I stepped out of the bathroom and made my way into his bedroom.

Edward's bedroom was much like his living room: filled with books and journals and pictures and painted in his favorite navy blue. His bed was as big as mine without the ridiculous canopy. He had black cotton sheets and matching comforter and a few pillows. He turned around and gasped when he saw me.

"Bella you're killing me. Do you _want _me to take you in the middle of the night?"

"Actually, yes. But I swear I'm not trying to seduce you."

"You don't even have to try. But I promise to be good as long as you do."

"I pinky swear!"

He laughed and locked pinkies with me, and then kissed the spot where our littlest fingers intertwined. We got into bed and I pulled the covers up to my chest. I rolled over and looked at Edward's beautifully calm face. He leaned over and kissed me once on the lips, then scooted over, turned me over, and held me close in his arms, wrapping them around my waist. He placed a kiss atop my hair and then on the side of my neck.

"Goodnight, beautiful," he said, and we floated off to sleep together.

**So....you likey? Let me know what you think! How would you like their relationship to progress? Suggestions for conflict? Do you want to see Edward's POV for the next day? Anything at all just let me know! I'm dying to hear your thoughts/comments/questions/concerns/suggestions. As you veteran reviewers should know, I respond to each and every review without fail.**

**Reviews are better than licking chocolate off of Edward's mouth. Actually, no they're not, but they DO make me update faster.**


	8. Chapter 7

**You guys never cease to amaze me. Honestly, I get so emotional when I read your reviews. It seemed like most of you really really really liked the licking chocolate off Edward's mouth bit. So did me and Jasmine! ;]**

**Shout out of the week to: Malu Daidoji! I know I've mentioned her before, but she is honestly one of the most wonderful people I've met through this site. She consistantly leaves me long reviews and comments on every single aspect of the chapter. Love you! Thanks to Jasmine for her Beta'ing skills. Mostly she just tells me I'm awesome, but that's besides the point...**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**EPOV**

I would never tire of waking up next to Aphrodite. Never.

I would even bear the morning wood she gave me. She was laying next to me in a tight light blue T-shirt and lacy black boy shorts. It was killing me. I watched her steady breathing until she rolled over, bringing herself close to me. She wrapped her arm around my waist and snuck her leg in between mine. I held my breath as I felt my morning wood grow into a fucking morning log.

"Mmmmmm Edward," she said softly in her sleep.

_She's dreaming about me._

I decided to take a leap and I brought my arm around her waist and pulled her towards me so our chests were touching. She felt so warm and soft against me, such a tiny beauty. I nuzzled my face into the crook of her neck and laid there for a while. I knew this had to end since I was no longer off from work, but I opted to ignore that fact, if only for another ten minutes.

I felt Bella stir a few minutes later, signaling that she was awake. I lifted my head level with hers, and was about to give her a kiss when she covered her mouth. She shook her head and ran into the bathroom. I sat up in my bed, confused. Was she alright? Was she sick? I heard her open the medicine cabinet and the water was running. Then I heard a gargling noise and I realized she was brushing her teeth and using mouthwash. She opened the door and sashayed over to the bed and sat next to me.

"All better," she said, and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning, Edward. And…Little Eddie." She giggled. I looked down and noticed my erection was still prominently straining against my boxers. I covered up with a pillow, embarrassed and feeling like a total weirdo.

"As much as I love Little Eddie, I think it would be best for the both of you if he were to calm down a bit. Just leave it to me," she said and took the pillow away. Bella pulled my boxers off roughly and threw them to the side. She traced the head with her littlest finger and I gasped.

"Bella," I said, not sure if I was warning her, telling her to stop, or just completely enthralled with her actions.

She bit her lip and licked the head, dipping it into the slit ever so lightly as I grasped the sheets and fell onto my back.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and went for the god damn gold. All at once my entire cock was in her mouth, her head was bobbing up and down, tongue swirling every which way. I kept hitting the back of her throat and she was pinching and rubbing my balls in the same motion as her tongue. I was so fucking close.

"Bella, I'm - I - I'm gonna -"

She moaned and sent vibrations through my cock and I fucking lost it and exploded into her mouth. She swallowed me, like she always does, but it never ceased to surprise me. She sat up and smiled at me innocently.

"All better?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Much," I said, as I pinned her on her back. I was going to return the favor.

"No, no," she said, pushing me away from her, "This morning was about you."

I rolled my eyes and settled for taking her in my arms and cuddling. We laid there for a while, silent, until the quiet was broken by Bella.

"Do you have work today?" she asked.

"Yes," I sighed, "but I'd much rather spend the day in bed with you."

"I'm so sick of my apartment. The restaurant's closed today and I have nothing to do!"

"I'm sorry, babe. You can stay here if you want. I get home at 6:00. Speaking of which…could you tell me what time it says on my alarm clock over on the nightstand?"

She looked and said, "7:13."

I sat straight up. "Shit, I have to shower."

"Can I join you?" Bella asked seductively.

"Only if you behave yourself!" I teased.

I took her by the hand and led her into the bathroom. We stripped each other of all our clothes while the water was warming up; I liked a nice, hot shower. I helped her into the shower first and followed quickly after her. This was going to be a test of my ignoring skills - I needed to ignore that I had a sexy woman in my shower with me, water flowing over her perfectly supple breasts and tight tummy…shit.

I grabbed the shampoo and lathered her hair, and she did the same to me. We laughed playfully and for a while until things got pretty serious. Bella rubbed some body wash on her hands and brought them to her stomach. She began soaping up her entire body, moving her hands in smooth circles up and down. She started at her neck, then traced down her breasts and over her nipples where she moaned softly, her eyes locked with mine. I felt Little Eddie get excited. She moved down her flat stomach and rubbed the soap all over. My breathing picked up when I realized where this was going. She turned around and bent over, scrubbing up her legs, revealing her beautifully bare, wet, and round ass to me. I felt my hands reach out and grab her plump bottom.

She gasped and said, "You're not behaving yourself, Edward."

I growled and pressed my erection into her, and she stopped her teasing. She stood up and turned to me.

"All done," and she walked out of the shower and out of the bathroom. I really didn't feel like beating off, so I decided to change the temperature from scalding hot to arctic cold. Once I finished my freezing shower and Eddie was on a leash, I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel low around my hips. Time for revenge.

Bella was standing in the clothes she wore to our date last night. She turned at the sound of my entrance and gasped.

"What's the matter?" Her eyes bugged out and she said nothing. Perfect. I dropped the towel nonchalantly and quickly got into my boxers, undershirt, black slacks and red long sleeve button down dress shirt. I selected a tie and fastened it as I put it around my neck. I turned to look at my beauty.

"Yes?" She was still gaping.

"Twat tease," she mumbled. I laughed heartily at her term.

"I have to get to work, dear. I'll call you later." I kissed her deeply on the lips, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"I don't want to leave you," I said, catching my breath.

"I know. But you have to make the benjamins!"

Planting a quick kiss on her cheek, I made my way towards the door to leave. On my way out I yelled, "Stay as long as you like!"

I felt like shit as soon as I left my apartment. What was it that drew me into this girl? I couldn't stay away! I continued to have these thoughts as I went down the elevator and got into the Volvo. On my way to work I began to think about the status of our relationship. When I left I felt like we were a married couple in the 1950s, the man going off to work and giving the wife a kiss and a 'Goodbye, dear.' But obviously we weren't anywhere near the marriage stage, and we only had two dates, so I didn't think that made us an official couple. But the fact that we had slept together twice and that I felt this insane connection to her told me we were doing more than just dating. I told her that she could stay at my place for as long as she wanted today, and I wasn't even home to be with her! _Maybe I could ask her out on another date, and if all goes well I'll ask her to be my girlfriend…ugh, it sounds so high school, but I seriously don't know what to do!_

Still confused, I pulled into the parking lot of Worktank and locked up the Volvo. I took the elevator to the third floor and made my usual rounds of gathering paperwork. I nodded to my boss, Demetri, as a sign of hello. He's a relatively polite gentleman, but under that façade is a cold-hearted demon that you did not want to see if you ever wanted to be able to lead a normal life. His former secretary, Gianna, actually developed extreme paranoia and trauma. She's in a mental facility right now.

I passed Demetri and looked over towards the farthest cubicle, where Worktank's biggest loner sat. Marcus. Apparently he lost his wife in a tragic accident and he's become very quiet and apathetic towards everyone and everything since then. I don't think the president of the company has the heart to let him go. I tried my best to ignore Riley, the office suck up, but he caught up to me too quickly.

"Edward," he sneered and walked away.

He did that every single day. Just gave me a snarky look and tone and ignored me. Who the hell does that? I steered clear of the very flamboyant and very gay Sam and asked my secretary, Shelley Cope, a sweet old lady with red hair to hold all of my calls. I didn't want an angry company head calling and ruining my day.

I walked into my office and was severely annoyed to see my partner in already. Heidi. Ugh. I cringed internally at her name. We had to work together on everything that was assigned to us, and to top it all off we shared an office. More than once, hell, more times than I can count she tried to get into my pants. It was highly irritating. She wasn't subtle at all, either. She was pretty according to everyone in the office, including Demetri, and I guess I understood why. She was tall and had legs that went on for days, mahogany hair that flowed down to her mid back and the most unusual violet color eyes. Attractive, sure, but definitely not my type. I liked short girls, darker hair, darker eyes, girls that blushed like hell and tripped over themselves frequently, girls who were modest and liked books, girls who weren't sluts and obvious beauties, girls who you wanted to spend time around, girls named Bella…

"Good morning, Stud Muffin. I bought you a coffee," she purred as she sauntered over to the door where I was standing.

I brushed past her. "No thanks."

"Why are you so cold to me, babe?"

"Don't call me babe. Stop hitting on me. I have the new proposal for the AT&T account," I said as I threw the folder on our adjoining desk, "and Demetri wants you to figure something out, stat."

"Ooooo I love when you use doctor lingo."

"Just do it, okay?" This is how our days went without fail. For a year since we became partners.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out. The screen read '1 New Text From Bella' and I smiled, opening it.

_Edward,_

_Hope you don't mind me hanging around your place today._

_There better not be any sluts at work to take you away from me!_

_I'll be waiting for you._

_- Bella_

She would be waiting for me when I got home. Bella Swan was waiting for _me._

_Bella,_

_There are some sluts, but don't worry, I'm yours._

_Can't wait to see you tonight._

_- Edward_

I sent the message. If only she knew the extent this one slut would go to claim me…and then I realized I had said 'I'm yours.' Oh god. That was way too forward to assume. There was no taking back anything now, and I'd just have to bear it. My phone vibrated and it was from Bella again.

_Edward,_

_Be good, Adonis._

_- Bella_

That confused me a little. I knew who Adonis was but it made no sense for her to call me that.

_Bella,_

_Adonis? Really?_

_Since when has that been my name?_

_- Edward_

A minute later I received a text message.

_Edward, _

_When I first met you that's who you immediately reminded me of._

_Like a Greek god, the most beautiful Adonis._

_That's what I call you in my head sometimes._

_You're too handsome for your own good ;]_

_- Bella_

I wrote back to her:

_Bella,_

_If I'm Adonis then you can be my Aphrodite._

_Your beauty astounds me._

_- Edward_

I couldn't believe that she thought of me that way. I knew I had a good body and good looks from what others had told me, but there was something about the way she compared me to a Greek god that really caught me off guard. She thought I was _beautiful_. Seriously, it was unfathomable. She was gorgeous and seemed so sweet and pure. What the hell did she see in me?

_Edward,_

_You're such a charmer._

_It's a deal, then, Adonis._

_- Bella_

I responded:

_Bella,_

_Until tonight, Aphrodite._

_- Edward_

"Who've you been texting this whole time, Eddie?" came the shrill whorish voice of Heidi.

"Don't. Call. Me. Eddie. And it's really none of your business. Just get that work done, I have to go get some coffee."

"I thought you didn't want coffee?"

"Not from you," I said, and bolted out of the office. Ah, finally I could breathe.

"Hey, Eddie boy!"

I turned towards the sound of the booming voice, of which it could only be coming from one man: my best friend, Emmett.

"Why is everyone calling me that today?" I said as he held his fist out for me to 'pound it.'

"I don't know, bro. You know what Rose was calling me last night?"

"Please don't tell me. It's too gross."

"Her monkey man. It was fuckin' hot, you should have been there."

"No I shouldn't! She's my sister, you freak!"

"Kinky," he said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Emmett McCarty had to be the most perverted person on this planet. He was always making some sort of innuendo, and sometimes he wasn't even that subtle! He was funny as hell though. A great guy to bring to a party.

We both walked over to get some coffee together when Emmett asked me a question.

"Are you going to Shelley's retirement party?"

"Shit! I totally forgot about that! When is it?"

"Tonight, right after work."

"Crap…I don't know if I can make it."

"She's counting on you! You're her favorite in the office, you know. I'll get you a date, if you want. I know a couple of hot brauds, you know. Just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't know chicks!" He was getting real crazy.

"Calm down! I'm not Rose, I'm not accusing you. And I don't need a date, thank you."

"What, is there some mystery girl that I don't know about?" He was so right.

"Actually, there is."

Emmett started to laugh hysterically, not stopping for a solid minute.

"Don't tell me…it's Tanya, right?"

"No, you baboon, it's not. Her name is Bella Swan."

"Sounds hot."

"You keep your eyes on Rose."

"Oh I will…I'll keep more than that on her, I can assure you…" I slapped him violently on the back of the head.

"Shut up, you oaf!" I said and walked away with my coffee. Heidi wasn't in our office so I figured it was safe to call Bella there. I dialed her number and put the phone to my ear, listening to three rings before she answered.

"Hello, Adonis," she answered.

"Aphrodite," I said.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, I totally forgot about this retirement party I'm supposed to go to…" I started, but Bella cut me off.

"It's okay if you don't want me at your apartment when you get home, Edward, I completely understand."

"NO!" I yelled. "I mean, sorry, that was way too loud. I do want you there. I actually do have this party and I called to ask if you wanted to come with me, perhaps? Like a date, I suppose."

"Oh! I'm sorry for assuming. Yes, I will definitely be there. Is it at your work?"

"Yeah, at about seven. We'll all be business casual, so I'll leave you with that to figure out what you're wearing."

"I'll see you then, Adonis."

"Goodbye, Aphrodite," I said, and I hung up.

Just then Heidi walked into the office.

"Who were you on the phone with?" she said, an accusatory tone in her voice.

"None of your business yet again, Heidi. Say, are you going to Shelley's retirement party tonight?""Why…are you asking me as a date?""I'm asking you for the sake of asking you."

"No. I don't like that smelly old lady. I'll just slip out early." She really was such a bitch. I rolled my eyes and got to work on a proposal for a new client. Demetri wanted us to think of a business that we thought could use some more publicity and perhaps a better ad campaign. I racked my brains until it came to me: Fetta di Calabria! It was a small restaurant, and I was almost positive it didn't have a website. I went to my computer and Googled it, just to be sure. My assumptions were confirmed. I wrote up a proposal about the way we could approach it and turned it into Demetri by 3:00, an hour before the deadline. I took my lunch break with Emmett and then went back to working with Heidi on the AT&T issue.

After what seemed like days, we finally got through about half of it, and Heidi went to report to Demetri and probably leave work as soon as possible.

I stayed in my office a while, twiddling my thumbs, thinking about Bella. I could tell the party was already going on but I didn't want to go out there until my Aphrodite got here. There was a light knock at my door.

"Come in," I said, praying it wasn't Heidi.

What met my eyes was so far from Heidi it was out of this world. It was Bella dressed up, hair done, makeup beautiful. She had on a green dress with the biggest plunging neckline I had ever seen. It came about mid thigh and made my eyes bug out of my sockets. Her hair was done up in a messy bun with a few strands of hair falling in her face. It was extremely sexy. Her eyes were lined with this black…whatever. I don't know much about makeup, but it was really hot. It had a smokey effect to it. When I saw her shoes I almost died. She was wearing fuck me heels. Black, sling back, fuck me heels. They had to be about five inches tall. **(A/N: Shoes and dress links in profile)** Little Eddie was going nuts. As I gazed shamelessly over her sexy figure I realized Alice must have dressed her. No way Bella would have picked this out for herself. I stood up (Little Eddie did too) and went over to Bella.

"Shit," I said, "You're so fucking sexy. Why must you tempt me so?"

She giggled and batted her eyelashes a bit. "Because it's so much fun," she said, leaning into me for a deep kiss. Her tongue started to trace my top lip as her arms snaked around my waist. I allowed her access and I put my hand behind her neck and pulled her tongue deeper into mine. I released her, needing breath, panting.

"Your desk looks very inviting," she said, and tried to go over towards it. I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to sit on it and tease and tempt me into taking her in my office.

"No way, Isabella," I said, blocking her from going any farther than the threshold. "You're not going to lure me over there."

"Too bad," she sighed, "because I'm going commando right now." She turned with a flip of her hair and walked out of my office.

I ran after her like the sucker I am and grabbed her ass, not very discreetly.

"I want you," I said, and just as I was about to bring her back into my office and fuck her senseless, Emmett fucking cockblocked me.

"Hey, buuuddyyy! Who's the babe?"

"You suck, man," I replied.

Bella stuck out her hand. "Bella Swan. Edward, aren't you going to introduce me?"

I groaned. "Bella, Emmett. Emmett, Bella."

"So _you're _Bella. I actually thought you made her up. She exists! Very nice to meet you, Bella, but I have to get back to my wife. I told her I'd bring her back a drink a while ago. Eddie." He winked at me and left for Rosalie.

"He gets to call you Eddie but I don't?" Bella whined playfully.

"He knows I hate it. That's why he does it. Now where were we…" I trailed off before I heard a gasp from Bella.

"What the hell is _he _doing here?"

"Who?" I said, ready to fight him off if he was causing such distress to Bella. She pointed over at the freakishly tall, russet-skinned man.

"Jacob? His sister, Rebecca, works here. How do you know…oh! He works with you, doesn't he? He's _that _Jacob."

"Yes, and Monday I actually get to get away from him! Ughhhh," she groaned.

"Don't worry, we'll stay away from him. Let me just give Shelley her present. I'll get you a martini. Stay here, lovely." I walked off and handed Shelley the gift card to a restaurant I found on one of my many random late night drives. I figured she and her husband could celebrate their retirement with a nice dinner.

I started to mix my Bella a drink when I heard her yelling.

"Leave me alone, Jacob! I don't want to have anything to do with you!"

I dropped the drink and immediately ran over there. "You little cock tease, you know you want me. Why else would you be here dressed like such a slut?"

"She's with me," I said, standing my fucking ground and letting him know who was in fucking charge.

"And just who the fuck are you?" he sneered.

"Her boyfriend, asshole," I said, getting ahead of myself. "And if you ever try to hit on my girlfriend again, you'll be fucking sorry." I gave him my most intense stare to make him aware of just who the hell he was dealing with.

"You don't scare me," he said, rolling up his sleeves like he expected to fight.

"Really?" I leaned over slightly to get my point across. "Go near her again and I won't hesitate to chop off your balls and put them through a god damn blender, and then send them, pureed, in a fucking jar to your mother. You got it?" I growled at him.

He looked as though he would shit his pants. He backed off slowly and ran out of the building.

Bella hugged me tightly and it felt as if she wouldn't ever let go. _Good._ I felt so angry and I needed to cool off. I walked us into my office as I ran my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down.

"Please," I said to her, "give me a minute to cool down. I don't want to have to track him down and rip his head off."

We sat in the stillest silence, just breathing. Once I had finally calmed down, I let out a big sigh.

"I'm your…?" Bella started. "Never mind."

"No, say it," I urged.

"You consider me your girlfriend?"

Shit. God damn Freudian slip. I had just felt so freaking protective of her in that moment that I had claimed her without even asking her. But I was also confused. Were we a couple in that sense? Was she upset about it?

"I'm sorry…it just slipped out…"

"Edward, I'm so happy!" She was beaming. "I've been trying to put a label on this and it just feels so right. I am honored to be called your girlfriend."

"And I'm honored to be your boyfriend."

She leaned forward and took my cheek in her hand. She placed her lips right at my ear and whispered seductively as my entire body shuddered, "Let's get out of here."

**CLIFFIE! I know you all love it, and I bet you can sense what's coming. All us FF pervs have a sixth sense for that kind of shit. Plus it's blatantly obvious, but oh well.**

**Thanks to tkeaton1 for suggesting the Edward/Jacob conflict. I was trying to figure out how to work that in, and she reminded me. ****Another shout out to cullengirl08. Her review really described Edward and Bella perfectly, and I really enjoyed that she understood. Thank you.**

**As I was telling Jasmine, this chapter definitely was way different from what I intended it to be. One minute Emmett starts writing himself into the story, and the next minute there's a retirement party for Mrs. Cope. Waaaaayyy different, but I think it's for the best. A lot happened here.**

**Reviews turn Edward's morning wood into morning log.**


	9. Chapter 8

**I know, it's been a while. I have valid excuses! School has been a huge bitch, and now that finals are over (sorta) I can get back into writing again!**

**A few shout-outs this week: To vegenosferatu for reading my entire story in one night! To lynntjtax for her desire for Edward's morning log...alas, it shall never be (I am greatly saddened by this). And to cullenitis for loving all of my favorite parts, laughing at the best parts, and for reviewing each and every chapter! You're the best! And as always, to Jasmine.**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**EPOV**

A shockwave went through my body as I realized the gravity of her words. I knew it would be best to wait a while longer to make this really count, but Bella made it so very difficult for me. I figured what the hell, I want it, she wants it, let's fucking do it. I was aware of how teenage boyish that sounded, but at the moment I didn't give a damn. All I wanted and needed was Bella, in my bed, naked.

I pulled her body close to mine, her barely covered breasts pushed into my chest and my erection straining against my work pants, desperately trying to reach it's goal. It's warm, hot, wet, goal…

She grabbed my hand, obviously hot and bothered as well, and pulled me out of the office building. I could have sworn I saw Emmett give me a thumbs up, and then Rosalie smack him on the back of the head.

We rode back in our separate cars, and on the way back I thought about whether or not that was good or bad. I wanted her near me, but no doubt she would try and rub me all the way home, and I was sure that I would crash the car with all that distraction. I decided it was best she was in her truck and I in the Volvo.

I must have broken every speed limit on every Seattle street we cruised but I didn't care. I needed to get home and fast before I would fuckin' jizz in my pants from thinking about Bella's warmth around my cock…

Her truck chugged into the parking lot at the same time my Volvo glided right in. I zipped right out of my car and grabbed her hand, running for the lobby. The clerk gave us a dirty look, obviously because he knew what we were doing and he was jealous for not getting some himself. In T-minus 20 seconds he was going to jack off, guaranteed.

The elevator doors closed and Bella pounced on me, jumping up and wrapping her legs around my waist. I grasped her ass firmly and roughly with my hands, grinding her into my hard-on to the point of pain. But she fucking seemed to like it because she pulled on my hair and groaned a bit too loudly for the average elevator ride. I sucked hard on her neck, officially marking her as my own. She smiled and squirmed, and we were finally on our floor. The doors opened and there wasn't anyone around; they were most likely sleeping.

I walked her to my room, still holding her legs firmly around my waist. I propped her up against the wall with a thud, and she giggled as I searched for my keys. After much frustration and several teases by Bella, we were finally inside. I kneaded by hands around her ass, grasping greedily at the sensuous flesh there. My hands were up the skirt of her dress, when I remembered she was going commando.

"Fuck," I groaned.

"I knew you'd like it," she whispered seductively in my ear after I threw her on my bed. _Sweet_. Our first fuck as a couple was going to be christened in _my _bed. It's only fair.

I ripped that teasing dress of hers off her body immediately and threw it somewhere. I couldn't help myself as I gazed upon her sexy nude body. She looked so fuckable and so god damn sexy. I needed her fucking now. I sucked and bit at her nipple ferociously, using my fingers to pinch and squeeze the other one. I pulled a bit and she moaned loudly. I wanted to hear more. I needed to hear her scream my fucking name; it was so fucking hot, I could get off on just that.

Without warning I plunged two fingers into her hot, wet, core and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"FUCK!" I caught her off guard and her eyes opened as far as they would go. I pumped in and out of her, sucking at her neck and using my thumb to rub her clit in fast circles. Her moans were more frequent and even louder now.

"Unnhhh! Edward! More more more!" She was screaming, coming when I pinched her clit between my thumb and forefinger. My erection hurt like a bitch against my pants and Bella made short work of them, almost ripping them in a frenzy to take them off. She was panting and smirking and looking all fucking sexy, when it fucking happened.

"I HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE!" A shrill voice and banging on my door interrupted our steamy session.

"MRS. NORRIS CAN SMELL THE WHOOPEE!" It was Sue. Sue and her god damn cat, Mrs. Norris. I wanted to fucking die. I wanted to rip a tree from its root and throw it. I was so pissed as I pulled my pants on and went to send Sue away.

I answered the door to her screaming in my face.

"How dare you disobey the rules!"

"Calm down, there are people sleeping!" I yelled back.

"You guys are the ones waking up the entire floor!"

"Yes, we're sorry, it won't happen again." I shut the door in her face. She kept yelling and knocking for a minute, and then eventually stopped. She wasn't gone…oh no, not at all. She was most definitely waiting outside my door, crouched in the war position, ready to pounce at us if we started up again.

I returned to the bedroom to see Bella in an old U of Illinois T-shirt of mine. I stared at her, a bit confused, when she spoke.

"Ehhhh I think we should get to bed. I'm tired, and Sue kind of creeped me out."

My mouth dropped open. She came over to me to close my jaw with her finger, placed a soft kiss on my lips, then went over to my bed to curl up for sleep.

"Sue fucking cockblocked me. What the hell is with everyone?! First Tyler, then Emmett, and now Sue!" It was ridiculous. Bella giggled.

"And you," I said, "cockblocked me too!" I threw up my arms in frustration and stripped my shirt and pants off, only standing in my boxers. I was going to make it fucking difficult for her. She would wish she had let us finish.

I moved towards her after getting in bed, unassuming. I started to trace her arms lightly. Nothing too crazy, just enough to start. I moved my hand to her breasts and rubbed her nipples through the fabric of the T-shirt. She gasped and closed her eyes, trying to resist me. _Oh no you don't._ I moved my hands down to her leg and worked my way up to her wet pussy. I grit my teeth so as to not bother already irritated Little Eddie. I traced my fingers lightly around, skipping her sensitive bundle of nerves and pinching at her folds. Her lips parted and she sucked in a big breath. I stopped and her eyes shot wide open. I looked right at her when I sucked her wetness off my fingers.

"You're fucking delicious," I said. I moved and delved my tongue into her mouth, letting her taste herself. "Goodnight," was all I left her with, and I rolled over into a deep sleep, smiling. _Victory_.

*******

Sometime in the middle of the night I started to have the most wonderful dream. I groaned as a I felt my cock start to harden with each stroke of her hand. She worked faster and faster. The dream was so vivid…too vivid. I awoke and opened my eyes to find Bella stroking me through my boxers.

My eyes widened and I was shocked. "Bella? What are you doing?"

She smiled seductively and answered, "Giving you a wake-up call." She pulled my boxers off with the grace and swiftness of a ballet dancer, and took my shaft in her mouth.

I threw my head back. "Fuckin' good wake-up call," I groaned as I felt her perfect, hot, wet, mouth around my length. She giggled, sending the vibrations of her action through my hard-on and my entire body. I bucked my hips upward in extreme pleasure. My thrusts sent my cock deeper into her mouth, hitting the very back of her throat. I was afraid for a moment that I hurt her, or perhaps made her extremely uncomfortable. I locked eyes with her and searched frantically for some sign. She smiled and continued her back and forth motions with her mouth. Her teeth scraped across my cock and I was done for. I screamed as my incredible orgasm ripped through my body, sending shockwaves of pleasure though me. I spilled my cum into her mouth and she took it all and swallowed like a champ. A god damn sexy fucking champ.

I lay panting on the bed, my chest heaving with each deep breath I took.

"I couldn't wait for you any longer," Bella said, her eyes clouded with lust. "I had to wake you up. You think you could get away with that little stunt of yours last night, did you? Well you were mistaken. I was so fucking horny all god damn night with you and that perfect cock of yours laying right next to me. I need to feel you so deep inside me you'll never be able to leave. I'm going to fuck you senseless, Edward. I'm going to fuck you until you can't goddamn walk."

My dick sprung to life at her speech. It was so fucking hot. _She _was so fucking hot. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders as she ripped her clothes off her body quickly. I could tell she was as desperate as I was for some friction. We'd abstained from having sex, solely because I was trying to be a gentleman, but god damnit I needed her and I needed her now.

She was completely naked now, and I latched my mouth onto her left nipple, biting and sucking at the sensitive flesh. My actions elicited a moan as she threw her head back, whispering my name. "Edward," she said.

"That's not good enough. I want you to fucking scream."

She smiled and looked me straight in the eye. "It will be _me _making _you_ scream."

I gulped and she laughed. She straddled me and took my hard length in her hand, stroking her folds with it, spreading her warm juices around on the tip of my cock.

"Unnhhh, Bella," I pleaded, "you're killing me. I fucking need you now."

She positioned my tip right at her entrance and slammed down on me in one swift motion. We both screamed simultaneously at the sensation of becoming one. She swiveled her hips as she started to ride me, slow at first, then harder and harder. The only sounds were our groans, moans, and screams, and the slapping and crashing of our bodies together.

"Fuck, Bella. You look so fucking hot bouncing up and down on my cock. Those delicious tits right in my face," I managed to get out as I bit down roughly on her right nipple.

"Edward!" She screamed as she rode me harder. She gripped the headboard behind me for leverage and fucked me with short, quick, thrusts. "You fucking like that, baby? The way I ride you?"

I nodded, my orgasm approaching. Her hand snaked down slowly over her abdomen to where our bodies were connected, using her index finger to rub slow circles around her clit. I groaned; I was almost gone.

"You like that? Tell me," she taunted.

"Fuck yes, baby. Touch yourself…unnhhh just like that."

I bucked my hips up to meet her, our thrusts becoming faster and more erratic, her finger working mercilessly to rub her clit. She pinched the bundle of nerves roughly and screamed out my name as her orgasm blew up.

"Edwarrrdddd unnnnhhhh fuck!" She screamed, and I came with her, screaming equally as loud.

"BELLAAAA!"

Her head rested on my shoulder as we breathed for the first time since we started this whole thing. We stayed there, panting. It felt good to be inside her, and stay inside her. I never wanted her to fucking leave. Never.

She lifted herself off of me, much to my chagrin, and laid next to me, her head on my shoulder. It was a beautiful, silent moment.

"I HEARD THE SCREAMING IN THERE! I HEARD THE WHOOPEE!"

Well, almost silent. I decided to let this bitch know where she stood.

"SHUT UP YOU GOD DAMN HAG!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping she would go away. Apparently she did, because we heard nothing after that. Bella erupted into a fit of giggles.

My alarm went off, alerting me that it was time to get ready for work. But I didn't want to. I groaned and shut it off, the shrill noise stopping. All I wanted to do was lay in bed with my Bella.

"Do you really have to go to work?" she asked, her swollen, plump lips in a pout.

The gears in my head turned. It was only last week that I took a vacation, but what the hell? I had never taken a sick day in my entire years with Worktank. Demetri wouldn't mind and he owed me a favor anyway. _Yes, I think this could work out._

"Bella, I just need to make a quick call into the office. Then I'm going to shower."

She nodded, a little upset. She wouldn't be for long, however.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone of the table. I dialed the office, when Shelley's voice came through.

"Worktank Advertising Agency, this is Shelley Cope, how may I help you?"

"It's Edward," I said in the best sick voice I could.

"Edward, you sound terrible!"

"I'm not feeling well. I woke up with this awful sore throat and I can't stop sneezing. I'm just calling to let you know that I won't be coming into work today."

"I'll let Demetri know, Edward. You just get some rest."

"Thanks, Shell." I threw in a hacking cough for good measure, then hung up.

I walked back into the bedroom where I found Bella slipping on an old high school baseball shirt on of mine. She looked so sexy, her creamy thighs exposed, the shirt just barely covering her round, perfect little ass.

Her breath hitched when she saw me walk in. I realized I was completely naked, and I laughed at the effect it had on her.

"You're so fucking hot," she said. I slipped on some new boxers and chuckled.

"Why thank you. Oh, and by the way, Bella…I called in sick."

Her mouth broke into the biggest smile I had ever seen, and she ran up to me and jumped in my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. She placed light, fluttery little kisses all over my face. Clearly she was happy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!! I'm so happy you're staying!"

I kissed her once on the lips, laughing once again at her behavior around me.

"If you'll let me take a quick shower, we can lay around all day."

"I'm coming with you!" she said as she followed me into the bathroom. I loved showering with Bella. Part of it was because she was so playful, and I loved the feeling of washing each other. The other part of it was because she was such a seductress. I warned her about teasing me before we got in but she completely ignored me…which worked out for the best, because two minutes into the shower I was thrusting my cock in and out of her. Needless to say, I was a bit worn out from the morning's activities. She put my baseball T-shirt back on and I put my boxers and a wife beater tee, we went into the living room and snuggled on the couch. Just me and my girl. We laid there till about 10, drifting in and out of sleep, both tired by the teasing last night, our early morning wake up call, and the fun shower we just had. Bella commented that she wanted to watch the news, so I grabbed the remote and tuned into Fox News.

"Our top story this morning…the serial killer that escaped from Ohio, whose name has now been released as James Campbell, was last spotted in a far West town in Montana. Four people have been slain since the man's break out, and the president has urged the American public to be aware, and keep constant vigilance. Onto the weather…"

The news reporter droned on. I didn't hear what the weather would be like today because I was too busy thinking about that James Campbell guy. I had heard the news about his break-out briefly, but I didn't realize how fast he was moving. If it was any other time, I would have wondered how he had been doing it. All that mattered was that he was too close to Seattle, and too close to my Bella. I felt a surge of hatred and protectiveness as I thought of what could happen if he got any closer. I gripped my hands into a pillow nearby. Bella must have felt me get tense, because she turned around in my lap and looked at me with concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I want you to be more careful from now on, Bella."

"I'll be fine! They'll catch him in no time."

"No!" I yelled. "I don't feel comfortable with you driving to and from work on your own. This guy is moving way too fast and I don't want you to get hurt." If anything happened to this woman, _my _woman, I don't know what I'd do.

She threw her hands up in surrender and said, "Alright, I promise."

"I'll take you to and from work," I said reasonably.

"What? No, that's totally unnecessary."

"Please, Bella," I pleaded, more scared than angry now. "Let me do this?"

"Alright," she said. I kissed her lightly on the nose and we sat watching the news for a little while longer. Before long both of us were starved, so I made us a couple of scrambled eggs and hashed browns. We sat at my table, talking lightly and drinking coffee. I got the paper from outside my door and sat back down, laughing at how much it reminded me of my parents.

I heard Bella get up and put her dishes in the sink, and then there was a shriek.

"What? What's wrong?" I turned around, scared she had hurt herself.

She pointed to the newspaper I had been holding and said one word. "Carnival!"

I looked at the page she was gesturing at and sure enough, there was a carnival in Belltown opening today at 5:30 PM.

"Does little Bella want to go to the carnival?" I asked in a babying voice.

She jumped up and down like a toddler and squealed. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Pretty please can we go to the carnival?" She hopped into my lap, her arms wrapped around my neck. I twisted my face to look like I was making a tough decision.

"Well…alright," I said, and she kissed me sweetly on the mouth, and followed suit by jumping up and down all over the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, amused.

"My happy dance," she replied simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for a 25 year old to act like she was 2.

We spent the rest of the day goofing off, watching movies, having pillow fights, playing Monopoly. It was such a relaxing and wonderful day. There was a moment when I looked into her eyes, as cliché as that sounds, and found everything I wanted in a woman. She kissed me passionately then, and I almost thought I wasn't going to let her leave to go to the carnival, and make her mine over and over again on my couch. But I decided that was a tad too selfish (though Little Eddie didn't seem to think so) and I let her go over to her apartment to change.

While she was getting dressed, I put a pair of black jeans and a gray T-shirt on with a pair of Chucks. I put some deodorant on after taking an almost fatal whiff of my arm pits, grabbed my keys and wallet, and walked across the hall to pick her up for our date. I knocked three times and waited less than five seconds. She opened the door with her eyes sparkling and her smile as wide as it could go. She was wearing a light green T-shirt and dark wash jean shorts, the ones that hugged her ass oh-so-right. She, too, had Converse on, and I chuckled.

"We match," I said, and took her hand in mine as we walked to the elevator together.

We took the Volvo to the carnival and it was a short ride. I made sure to tell her she looked beautiful about a thousand times before she told me to shut up already or she wouldn't screw me for a week. I was quiet the entire way after that; I made sure of it.

I parked the car in a spot near the entrance and I got out of the car, quickly walking around to her side to get the door for her.

"Thank you, sir," she said, and I entwined our fingers together and we made our way into the carnival.

There were flashing lights everywhere, carnival music blaring, the sounds of little kids running and their parents yelling after them. Teenagers tried to look like they were too cool to be there, but deep down you knew they so wanted to run around like those little kids. Sound effects from the games were going off and there were food stands all around. It was quite a sight. I looked over at Bella and saw her eyes open wide and sparkling, like one of those little children. She bit her lip, gazing all around at the sight before her. When her eyes rested upon each ride I heard a sharp intake of breath as she said "wow" and smiled at the thought of going on each and every one of them. Isabella Swan looked so cute and innocent in that moment. I wanted it to last forever. I wanted to take a picture of it in my mind and store it away in my mind so that I could view it as often as I wanted. She looked at me, smiling, clearly excited. I smiled back as we walked over to the ticket booth.

"Two wristbands, please," I said, and handed the man $40. Expensive, yes, but anything to please Bella.

"Please let me pay for my half," she pleaded with me.

"Nope. I'm taking you out. It's only fair."She sulked for a minute until we approached the line for the roller coaster. We were third in line, so thankfully she wouldn't have to jump up and down in her place for too long until we boarded the ride.

When it was our turn we showed the man our wristbands and sat at the front of the coaster. I made sure Bella was secure in her seat, and the man did as well. We were all buckled in when I held her hand.

"Scared?" she asked.

"No," I said. "Can't a guy hold his girlfriend's hand?"

She shrugged and smiled. "I suppose."

The man operating the ride pushed the button and we started around the corner and inched up the ramp slowly, my stomach doing flips as the anticipation kept building. Bella kept whooping and yelling "oh yeah!". Something told me this was a tradition of hers. We plunged down the ramp in an instant, Bella's and my hands up in the air, enjoying the wind whipping at our faces, screaming like teenagers. We swerved, turned and looped, and all too soon we were back at the stop position, and it was time to get off.

Once back on the grass, Bella lunged and threw her hands up in the air in that 'rock on' symbol.

"That was SO badass!" she screamed, and I doubled over in laughter.

"Bella, you're silly."

We went on all the rides they would let us on. After a while Bella and I got hungry, so we both got a hot dog and sat down at one of the picnic tables.

"Are you enjoying yourself so far?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? This is great!" she enthused.

"Good. I'm glad."

We finished up our food and I bought us a lemonade to share. We walked around the carnival, hand in hand, looking around at everything, commenting on random things that would pop into our minds. I saw the old classic game: The milk bottle game. The one where you have to knock the bottles down with a baseball.

"Let's go over here," I said, and I pulled her along.

"Hey, what can I do for ya?" The carnie asked.

"Three balls, please," I said, and he handed them to me, and I gave him a five dollar bill. I turned to Bella and I could already tell she knew what I was doing.

"You're trying to win a prize for me!" She looked absolutely ecstatic.

I threw the first ball and it narrowly missed the center. I took a deep breath, focusing everything on Varsity high school baseball. I 'got my head in the game' and threw the second ball, completely demolishing the bottles.

"Yay!" I heard Bella yell, and I hugged her tightly. The carnie gestured for her to choose a stuffed animal, and she picked a stuffed dog. She held it close to her and we walked away from the booth.

We walked around for another 15 minutes and all she could do was hug and kiss that stuffed animal! _God damn dog…_ How pathetic. I'm jealous of a stuffed animal.

"I think you like him more than you like me," I said, joking around.

She feigned shock. "Never!" she replied dramatically as she kissed me very passionately, to the disgust of the family we were standing right in front of.

"I'm convinced," I said. Something dawned on me. "Hey, Bella? You're an expert of carnivals, right?"

She nodded.

"Where's the tunnel of love?"

She stopped and gasped, as if I had said the most dirty and frightful thing in the world.

"There is no tunnel of love! That's just a god damn myth, a fabrication made by the media! Never, in all my years of carnival-going, have I ever, ever, seen a tunnel of love."

"Alright, alright! Geez, calm down, ya wacko. May I take you on the Ferris wheel as an apology, then?"

"Yes you may."

We showed the man with the name tag "Gil" our wristbands and got into the box. He pushed the button and we started moving. Bella snuggled in closely to me, laying her face in my chest as I wrapped my arm around her and kissed the top of her hair, smelling the sweet aroma of strawberries in her brunette locks. It was a perfect moment, a wonderfully romantic moment. Putting aside all the fuck sessions we seemed to keep having, I felt we had something really substantial besides the sex. We could just sit here, calmly and without teasing, and gaze up at the stars of impending night, without feeling fidgety or bored. I loved what we had going on here, and I was so happy that I had decided to welcome Bella to our apartment building that fateful moving day.

**I hope you all liked it! It was a killer to write with all that teasing and all those lemons, so I hope you appreciate them all! I liked the fluff that was packed in here too, though.**

**There are a few easter eggs in there...some only Jasmine will get, but I believe there are two or three that you guys might be able to pick up on as well!**

**Reviews prevent Edward getting cockblocked.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Shorter than usual, but the original chapter I planned was too long and had too much in it. I promise it will all be worth it in the end.**

**To cullenitis for being incredible and reviewing to prevent the cockblocking of Edward! B & E are most certainly a power couple. And to Jas, for blessing me with a plot bunny attack.**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**BPOV **

The week went by pretty quickly. Edward took me to work on his lunch break and then came back for me after he was home, when he could have been relaxing after a long day. He really was turning out to be the best guy a girl could ask for. I didn't think it was necessary as there wasn't anything on the news about James Campbell coming any closer to Washington, but Edward wouldn't hear anything of it.

The 4th of July was coming up and I had no plans. Alice hosts a party every year, but she was leaving on business on the 3rd. Angela was still in Portland and I didn't know Jasper, Alice's boyfriend, well enough to ask him to hang out without a group of people. So I was left friendless and plan less.

Edward came over after work on Sunday and I made him my famous manicotti. It was delicious, if I do say so myself. We were cuddling and kissing and watching TV when Edward asked me.

"Bella, do you have plans for the 4th?"

"Nope. Alice and Angela are gone, and I'm all alone," I feigned sadness.

"How would you like to come to my parents' party? They host one every year and my mother keeps begging me to meet you."

I turned in his lap to face him, my smile big and my eyes wide open. I felt closer to Edward, going the next step by meeting his parents.

"Edward, I'd love to go! You talk about me to your parents?"

He smiled sheepishly and blushed. I had never seen Edward Cullen blush before. It…humanized him. Made him a little bit more on my level, and also made him impossibly cuter.

He looked down, averting my gaze, and said, "Well…yeah. I really like you."

I gave him a big kiss and wound my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to me. When I came up for breath, I smiled once again.

"I think that's so cute. And I really like you, too." He kissed me again, and we continued to watch TV and snuggle.

We fell asleep on the couch and was awoken when Edward stirred to leave for his place to get ready for work. I grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him back on the couch in a groggy haze.

"Get back here, stud," I said, my speech slurred from exhaustion.

He fell back into my arms and chuckled.

"I would, babe, but I have to go to work. I'll be back by six, okay?"

My heart skipped a beat when he called me 'babe.' It was so simple and common among couples, but something about the ease with which he said it made the butterflies in my stomach flutter faster than they normally did.

I ran my lips along his jaw line, feeling the slight stubble from his not shaving yet. It was prickly and oddly sensual. I darted my tongue out to taste his sweet skin, which elicited a hiss from Adonis.

"Bella, I'm warning you," I said.

"What?" I asked innocently. I continued licking his jaw, and placed small kisses all over his face, purposely skipping his full, delectable lips. He grabbed my hips and groaned at the lack of contact.

"I don't have time to sex you up right now, Bella."

I laughed so hard at his words. I don't think I had ever heard something so funny. He didn't seem to understand the hilarity.

"I'm not kidding! I'm going to be late as it is!"

"Sex *giggle* you *giggle* up! Hahahaha!" Edward took advantage of my laughter by sneaking away from my grasp.

"Yeah, laugh it up! See if you ever get a fuck out of me again!"

"Oh, I could get _anything_ out of you if I wanted to," I said,

"Is that a challenge?" Edward asked.

"You bet it is. Go off to work, little boy. We'll see how you'll deal with the sex wrath of Bella Swan!"

Edward snorted. "Goodbye, babe. Do something productive today." He left the apartment and suddenly I felt very lonely. I got up and looked at the clock to see that it was only 7:30. I groaned and smacked my forehead. It was too early and there was no way I'd be able to fall back asleep. I paced back and forth, unsure of what to do. I opened and closed the fridge door about a thousand times, then actually settled on making toast for breakfast. I poured a glass of orange juice and settled down on the couch, putting on the news. There was still nothing on the serial killer; he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, which was fine by me.

After I had enough of the mundane morning news, I decided what I was going to do. I didn't want to do it, and it would be masochistic and painful, but there was nowhere else to turn. I went into the bedroom and picked up my cell phone, preparing myself for the disbelief that was going to come my way. I dialed the correct number and the line picked up on the other end.

"BELLA!"

I had decided to call Alice.

"Hey, Ali. Here it goes. Listen to me, okay? Don't say anything until I'm done. You got it?"

"Sure, Bella. You're scaring me."

_I'm scaring _myself_…_

"Edward invited me to his family's 4th of July party. I have nothing to do all day and I'm lonely, and I was wondering…if we…could…go…shopping."

"Oh my god! Bella Swan wants to go shopping! Alert the presses!"

"Yes, yes, I know. But I'm going to be meeting his parents and I want to look nice for them, you know? Make a good impression. Plus I'm going nuts over here by myself. So are you free, Alice?"

"When do you want to go?" Her voice was laced with excitement.

"Um…now?"

"Isabella! You not only _want _to go shopping, but you want to go shopping in the early _morning_? I think you're ill."

I snorted. "You don't have to tell me twice. Just get your ass over here, now!"

"I'll be there in 15! Bye, Bella!"

"Bye," I said as I hung up the phone.

I hopped in the shower quickly, sad about washing all trace of Edward's scent off of me. There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it still in my towel. It was Alice, of course.

She raised an eyebrow. "Hot, Bella." She let herself in.

"Last time I answered the door like that I had mind-blowing sex on the kitchen table."

Alice laughed so hard I thought she was going to pee her pants.

"I can't believe you did that! Bella, you are a changing woman!"

"I know, I know. Let me go put some clothes on and we'll be on our way."

Shaking my head at what I was voluntarily putting myself through, I walked into my room and shut the door. I rifled through my drawers and picked out a pair of jeans and a Portland State University shirt, along with my simple, so-not-Alice plain tan underwear and bra set, and got dressed. I slipped my converse on and dried my hair a bit with the towel.

"Alright," I said, walking out of my room, "let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Oh, Bella, I am so excited!" she enthused, and we were on our way out the door and down the elevator.

Alice had a most extravagant car that fit perfectly with her extravagant personality. It was a yellow Porsche, but I couldn't tell you anything more about it. All I knew was that it was extremely fast and attracted a lot of attention. I tried to convince her to let me drive my truck, but she was stubborn and insisted we take the Porsche. Knowing there was no arguing with Alice, I reluctantly agreed and got in the front seat.

"So," Alice began as we made our way to the shopping trip that I initiated, "how are you and Edward?"

I couldn't help but smile at his name. How could I explain to her that he was the most incredible person I had ever been with, the most wonderful boyfriend that any girl would be lucky to dream of, let alone be with?

"There are really no words," I said, at a loss for what to say.

"That good, huh?" she questioned.

"Even better. Better than you could imagine. I'm just worried it's too good. Like…it will all be over in a blink of an eye."

"It's normal to think that, Bella," Alice soothed as she got off at the correct exit. "What I think you need to do is just enjoy it in the moment, but be aware of any signs that could make you think this way. Don't dwell on the bad, though. Just make sure you cover your bases so you don't get hurt. Okay?""What the hell would I do without you, Alice Brandon?"

"Die, mostly. And have the most awful fashion sense," she joked and we both laughed as she parked. "Let's go!"

I groaned but complied as we made our way into the store. Alice's eyes lit up as she took in her surroundings. She seemed so happy to be in her heaven, so to speak. She ran up to the clothes and felt them with her hands, and then started to…smell them.

"That's where I draw the line, Alice!"

"Sorry, Bella. I got a little out of hand. Come on, I'll tell you the plan."

I gulped. "Plan?"

"For your outfit! You need to be classy but fresh, and casual but not boring. You know what I mean?"

"Not at all. Just point me in the right direction."

She just about threw me into the dressing room and I sat, waiting for her to make her choices. She was taking a while, so I decided to text Edward. Hopefully he wouldn't be too busy to answer.

_Edward,_

_Alice is torturing me with shopping. _

_I'm beginning to regret my decision to go. _

_Please help!_

_- Bella_

She sent the text message and Alice appeared in the doorway with her arms filled with clothes. This was going to be a long day…

I tried everything on to placate her. I refused outright three mini skirts and four dresses. I thought it was either too whoreish or too dressy.

"Alice, you said classy and casual! What the hell are you giving me?"

"Just try these on!" she demanded, throwing an outfit at me.

I put on the clothes and knew immediately that I would buy it. I had on a simple white pair of Bermuda shorts that stopped just above my knee and a blue shirt that Alice called a 'Pintucked Jersey Peasant' shirt…whatever that was. **(A/N: Outfit on profile).** Anyway, it was Edward's favorite color and the outfit was simple and casual, which was just my style. I opened the door to show Alice and she freaked.

"That's it! That's the outfit! Oh, his parents are going to love you!" She jumped up and down and pulled me in a tight hug.

"You're suffocating me!" I gasped.

She pulled away and shrugged, giving me a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Now go change! We need to pay for this and then we'll get some lunch."

I nodded and went back into the dressing room, closing the door. I began taking off the clothes when I heard my phone buzz. Half dressed I took my phone out of the pocket of my jeans and looked to see who it was. Edward.

"Hey," I said, answering the phone and trying to maneuver changing.

"Am I too late?" he asked. He was referring to my SOS text.

"Yeah. But it's alright. We're done, and it wasn't _that _bad. Just a little long is all." I was telling the truth.

"Damn. I really wanted to come over there to rescue my damsel in distress."

"Oh well," I chuckled.

"Are you coming over tonight?" he asked.

"If you'll take me," I replied.

"Hmmmm," he considered. "I'll take you. I'll take you in more ways than you could ever dream, and I'll take you over and over again until you're begging me to stop you're so sore."

I felt a wetness rush like a waterfall to my panties. His silky voice and sultry promises made me so aroused, you'd think he was in the dressing room with me, touching me everywhere. But he wasn't. It was just his voice over the phone. He was just too ridiculously sexy for his own good.

"Cat got your tongue?" he teased. He was having way too much fun.

"Be quiet, you. Yeah I'll come over. I'll be there at eight. Goodbye, Adonis."

"See you later, Aphrodite." I hung up and put the rest of my clothes on and found that Alice had wandered out of the dressing room area and over to the racks of clothes. I pulled her away much to her chagrin, we checked out, and I submitted myself to even more torture. More torture beyond what I would ever let myself go through ever again.

"Alice?" I asked timidly, scared to even suggest such a thing.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Take me to Victoria's Secret. It's fuckin' on. Edward is going to pay for seducing me via cell phone."

"Isabella Swan, I love you." She took me by the hand and practically ran us down the mall and to Victoria's Secret. Every employee there knew her, of course, and greeted us with genuine politeness. Alice started grabbing every kind of lingerie in every color they had and in less than five minutes I was in another dressing room.

The first set I tried on was basically two very thin pieces of red lace. I didn't like it, and although I'm sure Edward would be drooling, I didn't think it was exactly right. There was something about it that didn't scream 'Bella.' _And that's exactly what I want him to be doing…_

It seemed like an hour of lace and garters and thongs and leather until I came upon the most simple set that I had seen during the entire visit. It was a short, midnight blue baby doll with a tiny bow in the front, a V-neck cut and spaghetti straps. **(A/N: See on profile). **It was absolutely perfect, and I knew it would drive Edward wild. It showed a lot of skin but enough to leave something for the imagination. It was sexy but not slutty. Classy but no grandma-ish either. Edward would appreciate it very much.

I told Alice that that this was the one I wanted, and though she would have preferred I picked the pink leather/lace set, she agreed this would be best, and we purchased the lingerie and went to lunch.

After lunch, Alice dropped me off at my apartment and I thanked her for helping me out.

"Call me for help again, Bella. I think we can change you yet," she said, kissing my cheek before she sped out in the Porsche.

I trudged up the steps with my purchases (the elevator was out of order) and stumbled my way into my apartment, exhausted from the day's activities. I would get Edward back for taunting me like that. I planned out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. He'd curse the day he crossed Bella Swan!

**Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be full of action! *wink wink***

**Reviews are like Edward's sexy talk over the phone.**


	11. Chapter 10

**It took a little longer than I had hoped, but here it is! Shout-outs to my newest readers, ar080185, kathryncompton, and LondonGoth...welcome to NN! Thanks to Jasmine for Beta-ing and feeding my ego, as well as Jess!**

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, including my heart on ice in a cooler.**

**EPOV**

I chuckled, pressing 'end' on my cell phone. Messing with Bella was fun; it was incredible to observe the effect I had on her. I returned to my lunch (a delicious peanut butter sandwich) immersed in my own thoughts. There was something so innocent and pure about my Bella, but also something devilish and sexy. I liked her so much. It was a wonderful feeling, having a connection like this with a woman, with a girlfriend, with someone I could potentially love. It had never happened to me before, and everything I was feeling was completely new to me. I had to admit, I was a bit…scared. It was hard to admit to myself, and I couldn't ever admit it to anyone else. I felt like I was pouring myself completely into Bella and if she were ever to break my heart, I'd be devastated. I smacked myself in the forehead for acting like such a woman, and went back to eating my lunch.

To my dismay, the door to my office opened and Heidi walked in. There are no words for the disgust I felt towards this woman beast.

"Mmmmm babe I love when you roll your sleeves up. It makes your arms look so sexy," she said.

"Heidi, how many times to I have to tell you to back off?" I was getting really irritated, dealing with this day after day. I was not attracted to her, and never would be. Now that I had Bella in my life, I felt insulted and dirty just sitting next to Heidi and listening to her crap.

"You know you want me," she purred as she walked over to me, and touched my arm. I flinched away.

"I'm honestly not kidding when I say this: If you don't stop I will file a sexual harassment complaint." I was dead fucking serious.

"And do you think anyone would believe you? A guy, being harassed by a woman? All I'd have to do is cry 'rape' and you'd be done for. So I suggest you don't go whining to Human Resources."

This woman didn't make threats; she made promises. I knew the lengths she would go to get what she wanted and screw everyone that resisted her. I decided that I'd just have to endure it until someone else noticed it. If and when that day came, I would be so happy.

"Fine," I seethed, throwing out the rest of my sandwich and storming out of my office.

I knocked on Demetri's door, and entered when the voice from within his office advised me to do so.

"Hello, sir," I said, sitting down across from him. "I was wondering if you read my proposal about taking on that new client."

He gave me a puzzled look.

"You know…Fetta di Calabria?" I asked. Still, it seemed as though he had no idea what I was talking about.

"I guess you didn't read it yet, then." I was crestfallen. I worked so hard on that project, and nothing was coming of it.

"I'm very busy, Edward, you know that. I don't have time to read everything you bring to me."

I was furious. He was the one who told me to come up with the proposal. He was the one who wanted it _pronto_. What the hell was he doing? I calmed myself, gripping the arms of my chair, making sure I didn't do anything to get myself suspended or fired.

"Of course," I said. "Just let me know when you get around to it." I stood up and walked out of his office.

I met Riley on my way to the copy machine, and he had a smug look on his face.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"Don't get angry with _me,_" he sneered. "I didn't do anything." He was such a little prick.

"Just leave me alone, Riley." He snaked away from me. I finished my copies and threw them on Heidi's desk.

"Here. I'm leaving." I ran out of the office as soon as I could, so she wouldn't have the time to harass me again. I clocked out quickly and flew down the stairs to the parking garage and got into my Volvo. I was so angry and frustrated. My day was going fine until Heidi set off that annoying set of events that screwed with the day. I hated her and Riley so much more than they could ever know. And now Demetri was on that list as well. He didn't fucking read my proposal! It was a god damn good one, too.

Before I knew it I had arrived at the apartment complex and parked in my usual space. I slumped up the stairs and once I arrived in my apartment, slouched and fumbled on to the couch, exhausted.

I must have fallen asleep, because there was a large amount of drool on the pillow and my door was being banged on.

"Edward?" I heard Bella yell from the other side of the door. I noticed I had a few missed calls and there was concern in her voice. I sprang to life and ran over to the door and opened. Relief washed over Bella's face and she flung herself on me, clinging to my body and squeezing.

When she finally pulled away she smacked me on the shoulder.

"What the hell was that for? You said eight o'clock, right?" I looked on the microwave and it was 8:19.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," I explained as I let her in. "I must have fallen asleep. I had the most awful day. Forgive me?" I kissed her tiny hand and she smiled.

"Of course I do," she smiled.

"What's in the bag?" I asked. She was holding a small duffel bag in her hands, and she smiled mischievously when I inquired about it.

"You'll see," Bella teased. "Go into the bedroom and lie down. Strip down to your undershirt and boxers. I'll be in the bathroom." She scurried into my bathroom and shut the door. I couldn't imagine what she could possibly be doing, but I was immediately excited and obeyed her wishes. My mind went through so many scenarios and I felt my dick twitch at my own fantasies. My day was getting better already although nothing had actually happened yet.

I heard the bathroom door open and my heart speeded up erratically.

"Close your eyes," Bella cooed, and I obliged. I heard her walk into the room and smelled a faint perfume arrive with her. She put something down, and it sounded like she was unzipping her duffel bag. My ears strained to figure out what she was doing, but I could only deduce she took something out of the bag. I heard her approach the bed and set something down.

"You can open your eyes, now."

I did, and my heart did a huge jump and my dick did more than just twitch. Bella was standing before me, makeup done to make her look like a temptress (which she most certainly was). Her silky brown hair was curled at the end and fell right above her breasts. Oh god, her breasts…her beautiful, delectable, tasty breasts. She wore a lingerie one piece dress thing that had thin straps and came to a V, showing a bit more cleavage than normal, but stayed as modest as Bella. There was an innocent little bow that tied itself at the bottom of the V, and as my eyes traveled down her body and stopped at the hemline of the lingerie. It was a short piece that ended very high on her thigh, just barely concealing the hopefully wet prize beneath. The color was what did it for me. Everything else was absolutely amazing, but if it was any other color than my favorite of midnight blue, I wouldn't have been as excited. She knew this color drove me nuts and she was purposely using my love for sexy and modest women to torment me.

"Bella," I whispered, unable to do anything else.

She smiled seductively and let her hips sway back and forth as she sauntered over to me and Little Eddie, who was straining against my boxers to get a good view of my girl. She pushed me onto my back, still with that lazy smile playing across her lips, and crawled up my body to my face. She placed light kisses on my lips and I returned them with fervor.

Bella rolled off the bed and over to her duffel bag. My brow furrowed in confusion, but before I could ask her what she was doing, she turned around with a few pieces of…rope.

"I'm going to tie you up now, Edward," Bella stated simply with lust as she reached across my body to tie my hands on the headboard. She was starting on my ankles when I decided to ask about her idea.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, thankful for whatever reason she decided to be so god damn sexy.

"You teased me over the phone today, Edward. Now you're going to pay." There was a fire and a passion in her eyes that I had never seen before. She finished tying the rest of me up and eyed me up and down, like an artist would examine their latest work.

"Perfect," she whispered, and started her torture.

She walked back over towards the bed and straddled my hips sexily. She smiled at me again, but this time it was devilish and I was actually a bit nervous. She told me that I was going to pay for what I did, and I believed her. She threw her head back and ran her hands through her hair, with her chest jutting out in all its glory. Her hips rocked slightly, but it was enough to make me harder than I already was. She felt it and knew she was already getting to me and giggled. Suddenly her lips were all over mine in a frenzy of kisses, our mouths gliding together in perfect synchronicity. Her tongue pushed right past my lips and started to suck on my tongue greedily. She swirled hers around in my mouth and grasped my hair roughly, just the way I like it. I tried to move my arms but it was no use; she had tied them so tight that I would never be able to move.

"That's right, Edward. You won't be able to touch me this entire time. So I can tease you and leave you and pleasure you at my own will, while you're at my mercy." I groaned and she laughed again. Bella moved over to my hand and licked up my index finger. I knew where she was going with this and I was going to combust if I wasn't allowed to do anything.

"Please," I begged, but she put a finger to my lips.

"Shhh," she replied, and continued to torment me with her sex appeal. Her lips closed around my finger as she began to suck and nibble. I was going crazy over a god damn finger. Her hand moved its way down to my cock and she began to stroke me through my boxers. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as her ministrations grew faster and more pleasurable. All of a sudden it stopped, and my eyes flew back open. She was standing across the room, her hands on her hips with that devilish smile again.

"What the hell?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I've decided that I've given you a bit too much pleasure," she said. "It's time for the teasing to begin." _Uh oh._ I was in for it, that's for sure.

She tousled her hair a bit with her hand, and then she started to move it down her body. She stopped at her breasts, massaging her nipples through the satiny blue fabric and moaning at the contact. Her nipples were hard and erect, and my imagination assumed they were as pink and delectable as always. She pinched them and let out a sigh of pleasure. Her hand traveled farther down and stopped at the hem of the fabric she had turned into a weapon against me. Her one finger disappeared under the lingerie and we whimpered at the same time: I, at the loss of the visual, and she at what I could only assume to be contact with her dripping core.

"You want to see?" she asked. I nodded like an eager puppy and she slowly stripped off the beautiful piece of midnight blue fabric. I gasped as I saw she was standing only in a tiny lacy matching thong and nothing else. Her hand met with her clit on top of the fabric and she made smooth, slow circles around it as she closed her eyes and began her soft moaning. The other hand came back up to her breast to pinch and play with her nipples. My hips bucked up and I pulled against my restraints, desperate to touch her or myself, either one would do.

"Please," I begged, surprising myself. I don't beg for anything, but at this moment I was being tortured, and I could care less at how I sounded. She laughed devilishly and looked straight into my eyes.

"I'm very sorry, Edward. But I can't give you what you want." I threw my head back in frustration and she giggled some more. Her laughter was cut short by a gasp and I picked my head back up fast. She was no longer standing at the foot of the bed, but very stealthily had made her way to the side of the bed and was writhing on the floor, fingering herself. Two of her own fingers pumped in and out of her dripping core as her moans became more frequent due to her impending release. I jerked my body around violently and I heard a whimper. Bella was so close. I could smell it. I could feel it. I could hear it. Her long brown hair fanned out on the black carpet, she pumped her fingers two more time and her hips lifted away from the floor and screamed out the sexiest sound I had ever heard. She was still for a minute, breathing heavily from her orgasm and I stared at her longingly. I wondered how long she would torture me, and how long I would be able to handle it. I got my answer sooner than I thought.

Bella sat up straight, looking me in the eyes with that lust-filled stare for the thousandth time that night, and spoke to me.

"I can see that you're very frustrated." She smirked at me.

"That's an understatement," I retorted. I didn't even need to look down to know how erect I was. It was so painful and all I wanted was for it to go away, and for my pleasure to be enhanced. The anticipation was amazing, but I needed to feel her around me.

"I'm not going to untie you," she said and I groaned, "but I will give you what you want: release. It might be even more difficult since you won't be able to touch me, but it's the price you pay for messing with me. Do you understand?"

I nodded, my mind clouded with lust and arousal and panic and everything else. She crawled back onto the bed and pulled my boxers down to my ankles and ripped my wife beater tee in half, throwing the strips of fabric to the side. She scratched her nails lightly down my chest and abdomen, my muscles twitching and straining under the power of her seductive touch. I balled my hands into fists and bucked my hips upward. My hard cock grazed her glistening pussy and she moaned, obviously not expecting it. Her hands pushed my hips roughly back onto the bed and she flicked at my nipple with her tongue and teeth, causing shockwaves of pleasure to surge through my body.

She positioned herself above my engorged member and I knew what was coming next. All the delicious pleasure would wash over me, and this teasing fest, as much as I liked it, would be over and I would no longer be in pain.

Bella copied my crooked smile and inched herself painfully slow onto my cock, making sure to hold onto the headboard behind me and dangle her full breasts in front of my face. It felt like hours had gone by when I was finally completely inside her. But she had stopped, and it was torture, just being inside her and not being able to move or pound or thrust.

Very slowly, Bella lifted herself so that the tip of my dick was just about inside of her. I groaned, enthralled that she was finally moving and relishing in the feel of her walls around me, but agonized at the pace she was moving.

"Bella," I begged. I'd done it a million times tonight, but hopefully she would listen to me this time.

"Be patient. It'll all be worth it. I promise." She kissed my nose sweetly and sat back up.

She let her body slide back down on my cock. She felt so warm and wonderful around me and I was so loving the anticipation. She moved upwards a bit faster and sooner this time, and she began to rock back and forth, up and down onto me.

"Oh Bella," I breathed, letting out a moan. She was building me up; making sure that my orgasm would be mind-blowing when it happened, all the while torturing me in the process. She let one hand drop and lightly traced a fingernail over my nipple.

"Oh!" I yelled, surprised.

She placed her hands back on the headboard and picked up the pace. It was a beautiful sight, her riding my cock. She got faster and faster, slamming her hips down harder and with more fervor. I bucked my hips up to meet her downward thrusts; we met in the middle and the friction was amazing.

"Oh fuck, Bella," I groaned, reveling in her warm, wet walls contracting and squeezing around my cock. I felt my release building, but I was still teetering on the edge.

"So tight…so warm," I moaned almost incoherently.

"Edward…uhnnn shit, baby. You hit that spot every time. I love fucking you hard like this."

"Uhhhnnnn I love it when you talk dirty, babe. Your pussy feels so good around my cock. Slam down harder, Bella."

She did exactly as I asked; I guess she was tired of the teasing, too. She fucked me harder and faster. Her tits were bouncing in front of my face as she continued to ride me. I saw her hand slide to where our bodies were intertwined, and I assumed she was reaching to touch herself because she was as close as I was. I was surprised when her hands scraped my balls and she squeezed tightly. I was sent over the edge with her and I spilled myself into her.

"Shittttt Bella!" I screamed as I came. She moaned my name; I loved hearing my name on her lips in the heat of passion.

We were panting, our chests rising and falling, our breathing heavy. It was a minute before I spoke.

"Fucking hell, Bella. That was…shit, that was fucking incredible. The teasing was painful but it made it all the more enjoyable. You're a fucking sex goddess." And I meant every word.

She lifted herself off of me and laid down next to me in bed.

"I'm glad you liked it. Although, you were supposed to be getting punished for your behavior today. I may have to do it again…"

"No! I was punished enough, thank you. It was still torture." And it was.

"Good. Did you like the little outfit I bought today? I made Alice take me to Victoria's Secret."

"_You_ initiated a shopping trip? I can hardly believe it. And to answer your question, I _loved _the outfit, the lingerie, whatever you'd like to call it. It was sexy as hell. And you killed me with making it my favorite color, you temptress!" I poked her ribs playfully.

"I know. It had to be done, though." We laughed together and I watched her lay next to me, in my bed, naked. She was a wonderful sight, and I loved to know that she was mine.

"Bella? Could you take these restraints off me please?" I asked, remembering that I was tied to the bed.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Here, I'll get you out of these…" she said as she began untying the rope around my wrists and then my ankles.

"So did you like being tied up?" she asked.

"It was…different. I hated not being able to touch you, though," I said. And then, as an afterthought, "You masturbated right in front of me, you tease! _I _should punish _you _for that little show."

"Mmmmm but you liked it, didn't you?" she purred.

"You bet I did."

"Perv."

"Slut."

"Creeper."

"Whore."

"Saggy balls!" She laughed at my bewildered expression.

"I do _not _have saggy balls!" I exclaimed, defending the family jewels.

"I know. I just love seeing you all worked up and frustrated." She was hinting at a double meaning by referring to her earlier tease session, and I picked up on it.

"Fucking seductress," I mumbled under my breath. Bella laughed and rolled out of bed, changing back into the clothes she had on before I had the best sex of my life.

"Are you staying the night?" I asked. I really wanted her close to me again, and I still didn't like her being alone with the psycho freak on the loose.

"If you want me to," she replied, very well knowing the answer.

"Of course," I said, motioning for her to lay beside me again. She climbed back into bed with me, stripping off her clothes again, and snuggled into my side, her hair obstructing my view of her perfect face. I tucked a few locks of her hair behind her ear, kissed her forehead, and made sure she was as close to me as possible as I turned off the light and we drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

*******

**BPOV**

I shoved my legs into my new white Bermuda shorts and slipped on a pair of black flip flops.

"Hey, Edward?" I yelled from inside my room.

"What?" he yelled back.

I was fully dressed, and I walked out of my room and back into the kitchen where Edward was waiting for me. It was the 4th of July and we were leaving for his parents' party in a few minutes. I was getting really nervous about the whole thing. I was worrying and going over every embarrassing scenario and imagining everything that could go wrong.

"I'm…I'm afraid your parents won't like me," I admitted, meeting Edward's form as he stood up from the kitchen table at my entered presence to the room.

"Are you kidding? How could they not? You're beautiful, smart, funny…not to mention wearing my favorite color on that shirt of yours." He smiled and took my hands. "It will be fine. They will _love _you. Just relax, okay?"

I wasn't completely convinced, but there really wasn't anything else I could say on the matter.

"Okay. I'll try."

"Good. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Hold on a second. I don't want to forget the pie," I mentioned, walking over to the fridge and taking the foil covered dish out.

"Now I'm ready." Edward picked up my small black purse, held the door open for me, and followed me out of the apartment. As we walked down the hall, I ogled my beautiful boyfriend shamelessly. He was wearing a fit black T-shirt and dark wash jeans that hugged his firm ass so deliciously. His bronze hair was in a messy disarray, as always.

He caught my eye as we were waiting for the elevator.

"What are you looking at?" he questioned with a smile playing across his lips and amusement shining through his emerald colored eyes.

"Can I appreciate the physique of my boyfriend without being prosecuted, or what?"

"Well, then," he teased, walking over to me with a sexy look in his eye, "appreciate all you want." He dazzled me with his green orbs and took my hand in his, placing both of them on his chest and slowly dragging them down. Just when it was getting good, the elevator made a 'ding' sound and the doors opened.

"Oh well," Edward chuckled and we got in the elevator and went down to his parking space where his shiny silver Volvo was parked.

"You know," I said in my best sultry voice, "I've always admired the sleekness of this car. There's something about it that just…turns me on." I wiggled my eyebrows at Edward.

He gulped. "What?" His voice cracked.

I closed the distance between us and breathed in his ear, "I want you to fuck me on this car one day." I got in the car and left him to stare openly at my retreating figure, sporting a very prominent erection. I heard him walk around to the driver's side of the car and put the keys in the ignition.

"Shit," he whispered. I giggled as we set off for his parents' house in Tacoma.

The drive was easy. We didn't hit any traffic and we talked about everything. I felt so comfortable and synched to Edward…I loved every minute of it.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful?" Edward asked out of the blue.

"A thousand times."

"You look beautiful. There, a thousand and one."

I laughed and said, "You're such a dork."

"But you love it."

"That's true."

We arrived in Tacoma shortly after and turned onto his parents' street. I suddenly got extremely nervous as we pulled into the driveway; it was worse than this morning.

"Bella?" Edward asked, sensing my tension. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I lied in almost a whisper.

"Don't be nervous." He squeezed my hand and took the pie from my lap.

I was fascinated by the Cullen house. I had never seen anything like it. It was a beautiful gray or off-white Victorian era house with three floors, a wrap around porch and some slight landscaping. It was bigger than both my parents' houses put together, and I looked at it in awe. **(A/N: Picture in profile)**

"Wow," I marveled.

"Being a doctor for as long as my father has, you're able to afford these kinds of things. We aren't rich, but we're well off. However, it wasn't always this way."

I could tell that Edward was slightly uncomfortable in the matter, so I didn't say anything but only nodded as we got out of the car and locked our hands together, and went around to the backyard where the whole place was set up for a cookout. A man with striking blonde hair and kind blue eyes was wiping down a few tables, they undoubtedly needed cleaning after most likely covering dust all year. A small, delicate woman with wavy, caramel colored hair down to her shoulders and deep, strange gold looking eyes approached Edward and me.

"Bella!" she said enthusiastically as she pulled me in a warm embrace. "I'm Edward's mother, Esme. I'm so happy to finally meet you. You're every bit as beautiful as Edward says." She smiled at me like a mother would her own daughter, then called over to the blonde man to come meet with me.

"Hello, Bella," he said, shaking my hand. "I'm Carlisle, Edward's father. I'm so glad you could join us. It will be mostly family and friends here today, and I hope you get to know everyone and feel comfortable."

"Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Cullen for inviting me here. You have a lovely home."

"Please," Edward's mother said, "call us Esme and Carlisle."

"Bella made an apple pie." Edward spoke for the first time during the exchange and held out the dish wrapped in foil.

"I'm sure it will be delicious! Just think, a professional cook making a pie for out party!" Esme's smile lit up and was just as beautiful as Edward's. "I'll go put this in the fridge for later. Thank you for the pie, Bella."

"No problem," I said, and Esme walked back into the house with the pie.

"I need to go start up the grill, but Edward will show you around if you'd like." Carlisle shook my hand again and went over to begin the cooking process.

Edward held his arm out for me to take and said, "Shall we?"

He took me through all the rooms of the house: kitchen, living room, entertainment room, basement, bedroom, etc. However, Edward never lived in this house and therefore didn't have a room for me to rifle through. I really wished I could see what childhood Edward liked. It was an interesting thought to picture this sexy hunk as a little boy.

When we were done with the tour, we walked back outside to the backyard and found several people had already arrived. Emmett was there with his wife and Edward's sister, Rosalie, who was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was tall, about 5'10" and had a voluptuous body. Her blonde hair flowed down to the middle of her back in loose curls and her deep blue eyes shone in the afternoon sun. She seemed like the kind of person you wouldn't want to cross, but was genuinely friendly to me when we were introduced.

"It's so nice to meet you, Bella. I'm sorry I didn't get to say hello at Mrs. Cope's retirement party. I feel awful about what happened."

"He was such a jerk. But he hasn't bothered me since that night Edward told him off, so it all worked out in the end."

"You know what I remember about that night?" Emmett asked, chiming in for the first time. "How hot you looked, Bella. That was a sexy dress, I must-" Emmett was cut off by Rosalie slapping him on the back of the head, like Agent Gibbs does to his team, especially DiNozzo.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For being a pig!" Rosalie exclaimed. "You'll have to excuse him. He's a 13 year old boy." She dragged him by the ear to the far side of the yard.

"Well that was…interesting," I said to Edward.

"He's always like that. He doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut."

"I like him. And Rosalie. She's very intimidating, though, being such a beauty."

"I guess," Edward replied, "but I think you're more beautiful than…than…the Mona Lisa."

"Well that's not difficult to be, she's an ugly shrew!"

Edward laughed his musical laugh and introduced me to friends and family members. They all seemed very interested in what I had to say, and I ended up promising a few of them to make them dinner one night. I told them to stop by the restaurant if they were ever in town and I'd give them a discount.

When the entire guest list arrived everyone sat down at the tables and dug in to burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, and basically every other kind of food that you eat on the 4th of July. It was strange to see Edward's beauteous family sitting down for such a normal, average American meal. They seemed out of place, in a way, next to the hot dogs and mustard.

My pie received great praise from everyone who ate it and I was hackled for the recipe by Edward's entire family.

"You must teach me how to make an apple pie like this," Esme fawned, touching my hand as she sat diagonally from me.

"Sure! I'd love to, Esme. Next visit, I promise." I smiled at her, but I was also smiling on the inside. I so hoped there would be a next visit. I felt welcomed by his family and friends, and the relationship between Edward and me was going great. But I couldn't help but feel everything was _too _good. There was still that nagging part of my brain that was telling me that there was something wrong, and there was danger ahead. Something was out to destroy what we had.

**Eeeeekk...I know, a doomsday ending. But it wrote itself that way. Don't kill me! Just review, because reviews are almost as hot as Edward being tied up.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry I'm late *dodges bullets* I have a good reason, I swear! My computer broke and then I lost all my stuff. Translation: the chapter I was working on was lost. I felt really shitty and couldn't bring myself to writing. It took a while, but I finally built a better and more interesting chapter.**

**I'd like to call attention to something TheYaoiFan mentioned in a review. Apparently back in Chapter 5, I mentioned that Edward's mother's name is Elizabeth and that his father died when he was 11. Then, Esme and Carlisle (Edward's parents) show up in Chapter 10, alive and not Elizabeth. I think I also mentioned that his mom lives in Chicago. I'd like to apologize for this lapse in good writer behavior. I definitely need to catalgoue my characters' backstories more carefully. I'm so terribly sorry; I feel like I've let you all down. That was part of the reason I couldn't write, because I was so ashamed. I'm trying to put that past me and not beat myself up over it too much. So just to be clear: Esme and Carlisle are alive, Elizabeth doesn't exist. They don't live in Chicago anymore; they moved to Tacoma to be closer to Edward. That's the path we're going down.**

**Welcome, new readers: TheYaoiFan, athena-apollo, RobstenLover, Bammers - Hope you enjoy the story, and keep on reading it!**

**Thanks for not hitting me, Jazz. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns everything, except my key necklace.**

**BPOV**

Being with Edward made me so happy, despite my worries about our relationship being too perfect to last. He was a rare and wonderful man, and I would just have to enjoy what we had and not take it for granted, because at any moment, it could all be over.

Walking into the kitchen with my thoughts swimming around in my head, I grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and gulped it down. I felt a little better after getting hydrated when my cell phone rang from inside my room. I ran to answer it, hoping it was Edward. To my dismay, it wasn't, but when I saw the name flashed across the screen, I was immediately restored to a happy state.

"Angela! Hi, how are you?! Oh my god, I miss you so much!" My enthusiasm reached epic proportions, something that hadn't happened since…ever.

"Calm down, Bella! Alice much?"

I laughed at her comparison. "Very funny. How's Portland?"

"Actually," she said, "I got home last night. I was calling to see if you wanted to go to lunch today. We need to catch up."

"I would love that, Ang. Except I have work today! Damnit." Angela meant a lot to me, and I wanted to see her as soon as possible.

"What time do you work?" she asked.

"Um…1 o'clock."

"Well, then we can go for an early lunch. Panera. My treat. I'll come get you, and then I'll bring you to work!"

"Okay! Come get me in…" I looked at the clock. "In 30 minutes. I'm going to go get ready. See you then!"

"Bye!" she said, and we hung up.

As I got dressed and ready, I began to think about all Angela and I had been through. I recalled a memory from high school; Angela got me through a difficult time. Mike had been pressuring me to have sex with him, and I wasn't ready yet. He would tell me that 'everyone does it' and that I was 'the last virgin on earth.' Angela talked me through it and helped me regain some confidence that Mike was stealing from me every time he said things like that. Of course Alice was there, too, but her deal was more about getting all the guys on the football team to kick his ass. Thanks to Angela, I was more assertive with him and it immediately turned the dynamic of the relationship around. I was able to dictate the pace we went at, which made my first time better than it would have been if I had surrendered. I was forever grateful for her support during those years.

I called Edward to let him know I didn't need a ride to work, and that I'd see him at around 10. He was a little reluctant to let me out of his sight, but he knew how much I loved Angela, and he didn't argue.

After slipping on my uniform and brushing my unusually knotty hair, light taps on the door signaled Angela's arrival. I skipped in an Alice-like manner to answer the door and nearly screamed when I saw her.

"Angela! Oh my god, I've missed you so much!" We yelled and hugged and kissed and almost cried at one point, until I broke away and finally insisted we get to lunch; I didn't want to end up late for work, and all this hugging was embarrassing if your name wasn't Alice Brandon.

Angela told me all about her time in Portland on the ride over. She sold a few paintings and even started working on a sculpture inspired by the culture of downtown Portland. She described a lot of symbolic art mumbo jumbo that I didn't understand, but trust me when I say, it sounded like something that would have artists talking around the world.

Ben, her fiancée, visited her every weekend and they had a great time taking in their surroundings.

"It was such a beautiful place. Ben and I really loved it there," she told me as we stood in line at Panera.

"Why don't you move there then?" I asked her.

"Everything I know and love is in Seattle, though. My friends, my job, my apartment. My parents are in Forks, and moving to Portland would take me farther away from them."

"You're 25 years old, Ang. Your parents' opinion shouldn't effect your decision."

"I know, but I like having them in the same state." She seemed a bit saddened that she didn't live closer, and I knew that was what she was thinking about as she twiddled her thumbs and hung her head down. We had this discussion before. I felt bad about pushing it so I apologized.

"It's alright, Bella. I guess I'm still a 5-year-old at heart."

"If you don't want to live there permanently, why not get married there? You said you saw some really beautiful spots." I felt better once I suggested this, and her face lit up as she interpreted how that would play out.

"That's a great idea! Oh, why didn't I think of that?! Thank you so much for putting that in my head! I've got to tell Ben as soon as we're done with lunch. I think he'll like idea."

"Well, I'm glad to have been of some help to a worthy couple."

Angela smiled at me as we ordered our food and waited for it to be ready. We stood in comfortable silence as our names were called out and we picked up our food. I scoped out a quiet table by the fireplace that wasn't lit because of the summertime, and we sat down and dug in. I was halfway through my sandwich when Angela said something that caught me off guard.

"So Alice tells me you have a boyfriend."

I nearly choked on my sandwich and had to take a sip of my Diet Coke to move the piece of food down my throat.

"Shit, Alice doesn't wait for anything, does she?" I didn't even have to ask that question.

"No, she doesn't. If you want to talk about him, I'd really love to hear about him."

This was what I loved best about Angela Webber. She was kind and sweet and thoughtful and knew when to shut her mouth and when to talk. She was sensitive to your feelings and didn't push you to blab all of your personal secrets. Of course I would want to tell her all about Edward. I was so proud of our relationship and he was a great guy. No way I would hold back from saying anything.

"His name is Edward Cullen, he's 26, and works as a advertiser at the Worktank Agency. He's about 6' 2", has messy bronze hair, piercing green eyes, full, pouty lips, strong forearms, perfectly sculpted shoulders…chiseled abs…"

"Geez, Bella, he sounds like a hottie!"

I didn't hear anything. I was too busy fantasizing about my gorgeous boyfriend doing naughty things to me.

Angela snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Bella! Wake up! Quit the daydream, huh?"

"What? Oops…sorry." I smiled sheepishly, embarrassed for getting so intimate with my daydreams in such a public place.

"Anyway, he sounds gorgeous. But how is he personality wise?"

"The perfect man. And I'm not kidding. He has the manners of a Southern gentleman at the turn of the 20th century, without the irritating accent and 'ma'am' nonsense. He cares for my well-being and wants me to be comfortable with everything that happens. Edward is protective and jealous, but not to the point of a scary Lifetime movie way. He's funny and sweet but also a real man."

Angela sighed. "He sounds like a real winner, Bella. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. I really don't want to end this heart to heart, but I have to get to work. Banner will kill me if I'm late. Even though I've never been late a day in my life, he still has the need to fire anyone who is. Freakin' moron…"

"Well let's get you to work! I think I'll have to pull an Alice and speed through every street we encounter."

"Sounds terrifying. Let's go." We cleared the table of all remnants of lunch and made our way to Angela's car. On the way over to work I talked mostly of what had been going on in mine and Edward's relationship. She thought it was a good sign that I had survived and excelled in the meeting-the-parents challenge, though I couldn't shake that stupid nagging doom feeling again. I didn't voice my concerns, hoping there was no evidence to get so worried that I needed to tell someone. Besides, speaking these feelings out loud would make the possibility of a problem up ahead all the more real.

All too soon we arrived at the restaurant and I had to leave Angela behind.

"Give me a call. Me and you can get together. And I'd really like to meet Edward."

"I'd like that," I said truthfully as I got out of the car. "Thanks for lunch! And for dropping me off at work. I appreciate it." I waved and ran into the restaurant and was able to clock in right before my shift started. This was going to be an awesome day.

"Swan! You're late!"

"Check the clock, Banner, I punched in at 12:59, my shift starts at 1. I'm right on time."

"Oh…well…get to work!" Mr. Banner was hilarious when he was wrong, his face turned red and it looked like the vein in his forehead was about to explode. I chuckled my way to the kitchen and was not greeted by the usual inappropriate joke from Jacob, as it had been since Edward had nearly threatened death upon him at Mrs. Cope's retirement party. I rather liked it this way, but it _did _cause for some awkwardness. I felt weird working with him and I didn't know what to say if I needed to speak with him. Don't get me wrong, I was eternally grateful for Edward's actions but I didn't know how to handle the aftermath. I sighed and decided to just deal with it.

I said hello to the rest of the staff and was introduced to a temp by the name of Embry, and got right to work.

The night was uneventful to say the least, but I was happy to see a text message from Edward when I took my break.

_Bella,_

_I wish you were here right now._

_Work is brutal. _

_I miss you,_

_Edward_

I didn't like hearing that Edward was stressed or upset in any way, and my heart broke for him. Even though I didn't hear what he said live, I could imagine in my head the way his voice sounded when he said those words, and it was truly tired and frustrated.

_Edward,_

_I'm sorry to hear that, babe._

_I miss you too._

_I don't like to hear that you're upset._

_- Bella_

_Bella, _

_Don't worry about me. _

_I'm just counting the minutes until I pick you up._

_- Edward_

_Edward,_

_So am I. _

_Can I sleep over tonight?_

_I promise I can make it worth your while ;]_

_- Bella_

Oh, how I loved to toy with him. I figured a promise for something special later on might lighten his mood, plus I couldn't resist flirting with my sexy as hell boyfriend.

_Bella,_

_Hell yeah you're sleeping over._

_If you don't, I'll tie you up…_

_- Edward_

_Edward, _

_Going for some payback, are we?_

_- Bella_

_Bella,_

_You bet. _

_See you at 10._

_- Edward_

Smiling in anticipation of what was to come later tonight, I closed my phone and practically skipped back inside the restaurant. I hummed while I stirred the House's famous sauce, and did a little dance as well. Garrett laughed and I'm pretty sure the temp was a bit frightened; I could almost guarantee he would never be working _here _again.

"Swan! Quit dancing and get to work!" came Banner's voice loudly from behind me.

"Sorry, sir," I mumbled, embarrassed and ticked off. I continued on with my work, singing and dancing only in the safe confines of my mind. The clock seemed to tick slower and slower with each second that passed. I honestly thought Mr. Banner kept moving the hands backwards so as to drive me nuts and keep me overtime. Alas, it was only my exaggerated mind, and 10 o'clock finally came. It wasn't my turn to lock up, so all I had to do was clean up my station, punch out, gather my things and head out the god damn door.

Edward was leaning up against the side of his car, waiting for me. He still had his work clothes on, save for the tie. His light blue collared shirt was hanging loosely out of his black dress pants, three buttons messily hung open, exposing a few stray chest hairs that he was always very protective of. He said it took him 26 years to grow them, and that he would do everything he could to keep them there. I didn't stop laughing for a half hour.

"Eager, are we? How long have you been waiting out here, may I ask?" I questioned, walking over to him.

"About 30 minutes. Just in case you got off early. And because I don't want to keep you waiting, especially by yourself this late. I'm supposed to be protecting you, remember?"

My hands snaked around his waist and I rested my head on his chest. I listened to his heart beat steadily. It was a comfort to feel his chest rise and fall, and had we be laying down I could have easily fallen asleep. I kissed his bit of exposed chest, making my way up his neck and finally to his pouty lips.

"Thank you for being so wonderful," I whispered as he opened the door for me, letting me slide into his comfortable Volvo.

"Anytime." He winked and closed the silver door, walking at an inhuman speed around to his side of the car, and we were off. I knew he liked to drive fast, but recently he had started to slow down. I think he was afraid of hurting me in some way. Hopefully he would be that careful with my emotions.

I got this weird craving that came out of nowhere, and I knew that if I didn't feed the beast, it would bother me all night and I'd never be able to fall asleep.

"Can we stop at Dunkin' Donuts? I am _so _in the mood for a muffin."

"Really, Bella? Right now? It's pretty late."

"Who are you, Renee circa my childhood?"

"From what you've told me, Renee would have let you eat an entire tray of donuts and a liter of soda at whatever hour of the night. So, technically, no. I am your concerned boyfriend."

"Smartass," I mumbled. "Just pull in to the Dunkin' Donuts near our complex." I get cranky when I'm hungry, and I didn't want to end up getting into a useless fight over nothing with Edward. Anything to save our relationship and wipe the impending doom out of my mind, I was game for.

"You have to get out of the car, you know. They don't have a drive-thru," said Edward.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'll deal. I really need this muffin." Like an addict really needs his fix, that's how bad this craving was.

"Bella, you are so…" His eyes searched out distantly, past the roads and signs he was following, as if the words to describe exactly what I was were hidden in the stars of the night sky.

"I'm so _what_?" I asked, curiously playful.

"Weird."

My brow furrowed and I crinkled my nose. "Weird?"

"Yeah, that's definitely the word. You're one big weirdo."

I poked his ribs and reminded him, "I'm not the one that has an insurance plan for my chest hairs!"

"I should hope not, because then you would be too manly for my liking," his velvet laugh boomed as I sulked. I could seriously never win with this guy. He was way too witty and charming for his own good.

"You're lucky you're hot, or else I wouldn't let you get away with it." Again, his laughter filled the car, clearly amused with my statement. _Score one for Bella._

"You are quite the hilarious woman, my Bella." We had finally arrived at my haven of coffee and doughnuts. Edward parked in one swift and easy motion, and said, "Alright, you. Hurry your cute little butt up. I want to get you home as soon as possible." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Noted, Mr. Cullen," was the only response I gave him, desperate to not surrender to his little game. He groaned in frustration as I slammed the door and ran into the 24 hour heaven.

I loved having this back and forth with my Edward. It bothered me when couples were too intense or lovey-dovey on a daily basis. Your significant other should be your best friend as well as your romantic partner. I've always admired those couples that seem like they've known each other for years, and can still act like they are aware of every aspect of each other without seeming gooey. I admire the couples that aren't making out with each other every second of every day. I admire the couples that are just big goofballs, yet aren't flakes. I like to think Edward and I are getting there.

"Can I get a chocolate chip muffin? Thanks." I didn't let the boy behind the counter get a word in edgewise. As much as I wasn't succumbing to Edward's game, that doesn't mean that I didn't want to get home quickly and do whatever the eyebrow wiggling was suggesting.

I heard the door open behind me, and since it was late I could only think it was Edward coming to accompany me. I turned and smiled, when to my dismay and horror, it wasn't Edward.

"Sorry," I mumbled, terribly embarrassed. The man looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, though his beard wasn't full yet. I couldn't tell what he looked like very much, partly due to the fact I hadn't taken a good look at him, and partly because his hood was up, obscuring most of his face. He was very nondescript, an average looking guy. I turned around again to see him staring at the back of my head. His clothes were saggy and dirty and looked as though they had been slept in for as long as his beard had been growing. His dark eyes frightened me, so I quickly looked away, hearing the boy behind the counter tell me my total. I turned to leave, but something unexpected and terrifying happened.

The man grabbed me by the throat and growled, "Not so fast." He pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot the boy in the shoulder, and he went down, screaming in pain. My heart was pounding in my ears, my stomach had fallen to the floor, my brain was pulsing and my lungs felt like those of a withered, emphysema-ridden senior citizen. He threw me to the ground and I hit my head against the counter. I smelled the blood before I felt it, and I felt even more sick, if that was possible.

"Yes, that's right, you're bleeding. The crimson liquid is flowing out of your head at quite a pace," his voice slithered, almost snake like. His almost-black eyes held no life behind them; they were dead and matte and unfeeling.

Suddenly there was vomit next to my mouth, which I could only assume to be my own. I kept regurgitating my dinner until it felt like my stomach was hollow; it was as if all my insides had been scraped out with a rusty knife. Everything got blurry and my head was pounding. My head wound was becoming worse, and I was beginning to think that this man wouldn't have a chance to kill me, that the gash on my skull would do the job efficiently enough. Although, at this point I would rather he shoot me and get it over worth than going through the painful suffering. I felt myself slipping away, and I heard a scruffy yet soft "goodbye" in the distance.

_Oh, Edward. I need you so badly. I'm going to miss you, Edward. You meant so much to me. At least you can live and move on…that will make me happier when I'm…wherever I'm going…_

I tried to hold on to my life, focusing on the cold, hard tile floor and the prickly feeling my hair gave my cheek. My heart was pounding in my chest as he walked easily over to the cash register and took what I could guess to be a large sum of money. Ignoring the throbbing gashes and pain, I watched him look over the doughnuts and muffins, like he was a harmless man shopping around. He took a glazed doughnut and shoved it in his mouth, holding it like a dog and its chew toy. The money he obtained was stuffed into a duffel bag and finally ate the doughnut protruding from his mouth. His crusty, dirty hand reached into the pocket of his muddy black jeans and pulled out a short, shiny silver knife. He leaned over towards the boy and slit his throat in one clean, smooth, stroke. He sighed. I screamed at the sight of his cool demeanor whilst slicing another human being. He strolled over to me and kneeled by my side, watching me watching him.

"I thought you were already dead. Such a shame, now I have to do it all over again."

***dodges more bullets* Sorry! But I thought I'd return with a POW! I hope this sort of makes up for the stupidity and the long gap between updates.**

**Share your comments, questions, concerns, etc by reviewing, or PM me if you'd like to say so much more. Reviews are as cute as Edward's baby chest hairs, and they could possibly save Bella's life. But who knows? YOU have the fate of the characters in your hands.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Look at me! I updated in less than a week! I'm feelin' pretty awesome right now. Now, this chapter is pretty heavy, so it's not going to be what you guys are used to. But it's necessary, and good to have a bit of both angst and fluff/smut. **

**I had a ton of new readers/reviewers this time around! Shout out to them: AngelofSorrow620, Captain Kathryn Cullen, edward5953, prettyeliza10, Elphabella1122, cullengirl08, Masen's-Girl-123, anothertwilither, Aestheticvoyager, maximumsarah33, xXxFreeHellxXx, and luv4edwardcullen. Thanks for joining the ship of lust that is NN, even though it's kind of angsty now.**

**Most people who reviewed were confused as to why Edward didn't hear anything. I couldn't answer you guys at the time of the reviews, but the beginning of this chapter will tell you all you need to know. Many asked if Bella is pregnant, and I won't be answering that question.**

**Thanks to Jazz for staying up late to Beta, this chapter is dedicated to her. Chapter 11 was dedicated to Brand New Eyes because she was the motivation for getting it done FINALLY. I forgot to mention this last chapter, lol.**

**The only things Stephenie Meyer doesn't own are my copies of Harry Potter.**

**EPOV**

Bella looked so adorable skipping into the Dunkin' Donuts. I ogled over her cute, tight ass and got _very _excited about the night ahead of us. The physical part of our relationship was excellent, as was the emotional part. I had begun to think that this woman was going to be the one…but I didn't want to rush anything yet.

At times I sensed a bit of hesitancy from Bella. Perhaps I just imagined it and I'm just over thinking things, but it seems that Bella pulls back sometimes. I've poured my heart and soul into every relationship I've ever been in, especially this one, and it would be devastating for me if she wasn't as dedicated to this as I am. Maybe she's just testing the waters and being careful with a new relationship, especially when we started as having two one night stands. If that was the case, I could live with it. I was just hoping I was right.

I heard my cell phone ring, and I reached over the console to pick it up, when I felt excruciating pain to my head, and then there was nothing.

***

I heard a siren somewhere in the distance, and then my hearing was gone. I saw a flash of red light, and then nothing again. My hearing was back for a bit, but only muffled. Everything sounded slow and like I was under water. The siren was back again, and I could have sworn I heard some voices. There was a scream in the distance, and then everything went black again.

***

A searing pain ripped through my body, and once the original blast of it was gone, I realized it was located in my head. It felt as if my brain was being scraped with a nail, and my skull was being sawed through. My back arched in pain and I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was the first time I noticed that I was laying down. Where that was, I couldn't be sure, but I knew it was hard and uncomfortable. I couldn't think with all the screaming and pain. I searched my brain desperately for a reason why I would be on the ground. _Where was I before this black nothingness of pain and confusion? _It was too difficult to discern what the fuck was going on. I still couldn't see (maybe my eyes were closed, I had no idea) and the pain was even worse than before.

The muffled voices came back and I felt myself being lifted. I focused on the feeling of it, coming to the conclusion that someone was carrying me. There was some pressure on my chest, and all of a sudden I became more aware of my surroundings. The voices were less skewed, the sirens were louder, and I came to the conclusion that there were multiple people wherever I was. I was no longer laying on a hard surface, and I felt a pinch in my arm and then it was gone. I could feel my eyelids. I couldn't open them because there were large boulders on top of them, but I was definitely trying. I clenched my fists as more voices came into focus and pierced my eardrums. There was something covering my mouth. At first I tried to swat it away, but then I realized it was helping me breathe better than I had been, and I let it go. The boulders' weight started to lessen, and I felt some slight movement, almost like I was levitating. That sounded ridiculous even in my head in this state, so I tried to think of another way I could be moving. I heard a voice that sounded like it was calling my name. _What's my name again? _I listened more closely in an attempt to figure out whose voice it was, and what they might be saying.

"Edward?" the voice called out.

_So _that's _my name. _The voice kept saying my name over and over, like it was asking me a question. Perhaps they were asking what happened to me. If only I could figure that out myself, I could let them know and I could be on my way. My arms reached out in front of me to grab on to the person to let them know that I could hear them.

"Can you hear me, Edward?" called the voice again.

Didn't they understand? That's what I was getting at, flapping my arms all over the place. I tried to move my head to nod, but nothing was working. My head was in a vice and it was continually being squeezed. I remembered I had this thing called a mouth, and I moved the lips attached to it and tried to make a sound. I failed.

"Nod, speak, do anything if you can hear me, Edward."

I lifted my right hand and waved it around, hoping someone would see me.

"Good, good. We're taking you to the hospital, Edward. Stay with us, okay?"

The hospital? What in the fucking hell happened? Why the fuck was I going to the hospital? There had to be a mistake, there just fucking had to be. I couldn't remember anything that happened. If something that terrible occurred that I'd need to go to the hospital, I'd remember it…right? Something else didn't feel right…I couldn't put my finger on it, but it felt like there was something missing…

I decided to try and work on opening my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle it, as the noise filling my ears made me feel like I was going to explode. Taking images through my eyes might cause that to actually happen. I squeezed my eyes in attempt to get rid of the boulders, and it worked. I struggled against my lids, but I finally opened them and was greeted by a bright, shining light, and blurred figures on each side of my body. There was a lot of shouting in tense voices as I searched my brain for any evidence of what could have happened. I realized I had the ability to speak, so I tried to form some words.

"What…?" I managed to choke out. This seemed to excite the people around me.

"Keep trying to talk to us, Edward. We're here for you, Mr. Cullen."

I looked to my right and saw a needle in my arm. My eyes followed the tube up to a bag above my head. _There's an IV in my arm. Why is there an IV in my arm?_

"What…what…happened?" I finally asked. Maybe these people sticking needles in my arms would be able to fill in the blanks for me.

"We believe you were attacked with a blunt object just outside the Dunkin' Donuts. We're taking you to Seattle General for surgery."

_I was attacked? Holy fucking shit! What the hell did I _do _to this person to get beaten? And why the hell was I at Dunkin' Donuts? Starbucks is just down the road from…_

"NO!" I screamed in realization. It all fit together now. At least some of it. I never went to Dunkin' Donuts, but I was there for _Bella. _She wanted a muffin and I pulled into the place so she could go in and purchase one. But where was she now? I needed to see her. I needed her here by my side. I was scared for me, and I was scared for her. It made me nervous not knowing where she was. My senses kicked in a bit more and I was able to form a sentence.

"Bella…where's Bella?" I needed to know.

"She was attacked as well. She's in the other ambulance which is ahead of us and also on its way to Seattle General."

Everything was spinning. My organs felt mangled up and the gash on my head burned. A scream ripped through the ambulance; my limbs thrashed around trying to get to my Bella, and trying to stop myself from yelling so much. Nothing made sense, and the only thing I wanted was to see Bella and protect her from harm. I needed to know if she was okay. Every precaution I had been taking recently had been for her benefit and her protection against anything that could hurt her. And because I didn't take her directly home like I wanted to, and because I didn't go inside with her, she was attacked, in pain, and possibly…no. I couldn't think like that. It would be too much, too painful.

"Bella! I need to see her! Bella!" I screamed over and over again like a mantra, thrashing my body around until whom I could only assume to be paramedics had to restrain me from harming myself or anyone else. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I repeatedly said my angel's name: _Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella…_ If anything had happened to her, my life would be over, and I knew it.

After what felt like hours, the ambulance stopped and the paramedics rushed me out of the vehicle and into the hospital. They assured me that Bella was alright and was right in front of me on her own stretcher. We were both going to the trauma ward and the city's best surgeons were already notified and prepping for our arrival. Among all of this commotion of reassurances, a nurse asked me a million questions about who I was, where I lived, my name, age, etc. I answered her without missing a beat, looking up at the moving ceiling above me as I was being wheeled into the ER. It was interesting how I could barely comprehend the words and sights around me, and even the fact that I had eyes, and now that Bella's well-being was thrown into the picture, I was perfectly alert. Call it an adrenaline rush, if you will, but not a very pleasant one.

I was prepped for surgery, given an anesthetic, and the surgeon spoke. "I'd like you to count backwards from 10, Edward."

Such a stupid request. Why couldn't I just babble on about something stupid? Or maybe count forwards? "10, 9, 8..."

My vision went blurry at 8, I felt exhausted at 7, and was totally out by 5.

***

My eyes opened as I came to. I was laying in a hospital bed at Seattle General. There was a small TV mounted on the wall, a nightstand next to my bed, and terribly tacky and sick looking wallpaper covering the room. _Ouch. _I remembered why I was here as my head pounded in pain. But I couldn't think about that now. I needed to know where my Bella was, and if she was okay. I knew she had gone into surgery at the same time I had, but I hadn't heard anything. I reached over next to me and pushed the button to call a nurse to my room.

A short, plump, middle-aged woman who I assumed to be the nurse walked into my room.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Cullen?" she asked. It was obviously part of her bedside manner training. It was uncannily not genuine and mechanical. She was trying too hard to be nice.

"Where's Bella?" That was the only thing that mattered. I was fine, but what about her?

"Is she a friend of yours?"

"Bella is my girlfriend and she was attacked. Where is she?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that, Mr. Cullen. Would you like something to eat?"

This woman was really irritating me now. Why didn't she understand how urgent this was? She completely ignored the fact that I told her Bella was attacked, and skipped right ahead to what was most likely the next step of the nurse's act.

"I'm not hungry. I need to know if Bella is okay." I tried not to sound rude, but I think I failed.

"You really should eat."

Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach and I sat up quickly, throwing my hands up in the air in annoyance.

"Don't you understand? Some asshole psycho beat her over the head!" I screamed at the insufferable woman. "Look, she came into the ER right before I did. Could you," I asked politely, "please find out where she is and if she's alright? I really need to know."

She sighed and pursed her lips. "Yes, Mr. Cullen."

"Thank you. Her name is Bella Swan."

She nodded and walked out of the room, finally listening to what I needed. I tossed and turned uncomfortably in the scratchy sheets of the generic bed I was laying in. I didn't want to watch TV, and I didn't want to read the gossip rags they provided on the end table. I felt like pacing around the room, but the only problem was that there was an IV in my arm, and I was in too much pain to get up. _Bella could be in more pain than you, you selfish bastard._ I slowly removed the needle from my arm, threw the blankets off of my body and gingerly moved my legs to the side of the bed. Just as my feet were about to touch the floor, a man wearing a white lab coat walked into my room.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Cullen?" the doctor asked.

"To find Bella. No one is telling me anything."

"Nurse Mary is currently checking on her status. Please get back into bed. My name is Dr. Gerandy, and I'd like to talk to you about your condition."

Rolling my eyes and sighing, I laid back down and waited for him to speak.

"Thank you. Now," he said, walking around the room, "you were assaulted with what we believe to be a blunt object of some sort. You were knocked unconscious and suffered a cerebral contusion because of the attack. You sustained some minor bruising, but otherwise you're alright. We're going to keep you here for a few days and monitor your progress."

"What about the guy? Was he caught?" If he wasn't, as soon as I got out of here I was going to track him down and kill him.

"That I don't know. You'd have to ask the police that question when you leave."

The god awful nurse returned and I sat at attention, hopeful that she had located Bella.

"We found your girlfriend. She's just down the hall, in room 210. Dr. Snow doesn't want her to have any visitors at this time. Maybe tomorrow."

"Fuck Dr. Snow, I need to see my Bella!" I screamed in irritation and longing, and I moved more quickly to get out of bed. I don't know how I thought I could get past two people blocking the door while I was recovering from a head injury. They stopped me before I got two feet away from my bed and carried me back.

"I know you really want to see her," started the nurse, "but she needs her rest, as do you. If you want both of you to get better enough to have a future together, I suggest you stay here." She was stern and no nonsense now. Even though she was restricting me from seeing Bella, I liked that she was honest and not a sickly sweet piece of shit anymore.

"Fine," I huffed, and laid back in bed. Nurse Mary reattached my IV and told me to ring her if I needed anything. Dr. Gerandy said his goodbyes as well, and left me alone with only my thoughts and a revenge that could bring a tidal wave of hell to the world.

***

Morning. Normally I did relatively well with mornings, but since I hadn't seen Bella in almost 12 hours, and I didn't know if she was suffering, I couldn't deal with it. I had paged Nurse Mary four times this morning, each time she denied me access to Bella's room.

"You lied to me! You said I could see her today!" I screamed at her for the third time this morning.

"Please calm down. I didn't lie to you, Mr. Cullen. I said you would be able to see her today. There are still many hours left of the day. It's only morning. Please be patient. You'll be able to see her this afternoon. Dr. Snow only just told me. Would you like breakfast?"

"Sure, fine, whatever," I said. Still irritated, I ate my breakfast slowly and in a bad mood. I flipped through the basic cable I got on the TV and ended up watching some infomercials.

I kept worrying about Bella and when I was getting the opportunity to see her all through the Oxi Clean advertisement and through four cases of Judge Judy. The stupidity of the people on that show disgusted me, but as there was nothing else on television, I dealt with it, still stewing about being separated from Bella. More feelings of guilt were brought on as I thought of my injury and the several potential injuries she had sustained. With mine and her luck combined, she had way more than I did. I didn't fulfill my duty as a good and protective boyfriend. I let her out of my sight too late at night, knowing full well that there was a serial killer on the loose near Seattle, and knowing the vile kinds of people that came out at night. I was a fucking deadbeat shithead.

In the middle of my self loathing, Nurse Mary came in. "You can see her now. I'll take you there, Mr. Cullen."

My face lit up like a total buffoon, all of my teeth showing in my huge smile. "Thank you so much!"

I got out of bed and she took my hand, leading me to room 210. I was nervous to see her. What if her injuries were far more serious and devastating? I couldn't live with myself knowing that I indirectly caused them. The walk down the hall felt like a walk to my death, and it seemed to take hours and hours. We finally arrived and Mary opened the door just enough for me to slip in. She left me alone with no parting words, finally being normal for once. She really did understand, and she wasn't trying to be a bitch before. She knew that I wanted to be with Bella, and was immediately forgiven for her earlier behavior. I felt guilty for being so rude to her, and now I felt like a double jackass.

Feeling a bit chilly from the draft coming through my thin hospital robe, I shuffled in to her room like an old man. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like a sleeping angel. Her hair was a mess around her face, and there were a few bruises around her cheeks and eyes. My throat felt tight when I saw the bandages around her head and her arm in a sling. There was a long cut on her hand, and as I moved closer to her bed and sat in the chair next to it, I was able to see the cut more clearly. It had a strange moon shape. I was so angry at this man, but a little spark of hope lit in my stomach, because this person was most likely going to be tracked down because of the unique mark the object left on her hand. I stroked her hair softly, needing to touch her in any way, just to make sure she was alive and here. She must not have been sleeping very deeply, because her eyes fluttered open and they settled on mine. The two pools of chocolate brown seemed to light up when she realized I was here. She smiled as best she could with the bruises on her face, and breathed my name, extending her arms as an invitation for a hug. I obliged, breathing in the natural scent of my beautiful woman.

"Oh Bella," I whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay. I'll never forgive myself for leaving you alone like that. I'll never do it again. I'm never going to leave you." Tears spilled over and ran down my face, making this the second time I was crying in 12 hours, which is a lot for me. I held on to her with all my might, but made sure I was gentle with her fragile and aching body.

"It wasn't your fault, Edward. You couldn't have predicted what happened. Letting me go into a store by myself is hardly leaving me alone in the middle of a crime-ridden town. I don't want you to carry around this guilt with you."

My angel spoke of my innocence, but I still couldn't shake the image of myself as an accessory to a horrible crime out of my head.

"Bella, I'm such an ass. I hate myself for what happened. Can you ever forgive me? It doesn't change a thing, but I need to know if you forgive me for doing this to you; for being the cause of your pain. I failed as a boyfriend and as your protector."

"You didn't do anything," she said in exasperation. "And it kills me to see you like this. You didn't fail, and that psycho was the one that caused this pain. I can't forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. You're an amazing man, Edward Cullen, and I'm thankful that you're in my life."

I sat back in the chair and thought over her words. "I can't help feeling guilty."

Her uninjured hand moved slowly over to my right one. She placed hers atop of mine and held it, stroking my palm with her thumb, rubbing it in smooth, calming circles. "Then that's something we're going to have to work on."

**In my opinion, an interesting way to end the chapter. I thought about including more Edward/Bella dialogue, but ultimately decided on this as a good end point. I hope you guys are satisfied with the chapter because I worked hard on it; it was difficult to write, and I knew you guys wouldn't want to wait forever. Reviews are the first step in relieving Edward's guilt. Send in your questions, comments, thoughts, concerns, rants, etc via reviews or PM me if you want to say some more!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Thanks again for putting up with my late posting. I know it must get tiring, but somehow you guys love me enough to keep coming back. I'm still baffled by how well this story is doing; never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that all of these people would be waiting to read something that had come out of my brain.**

**Special shout out to Jasmine: I would DIE without you! She really helped me with this chapter. I was confused as to how to do a lot of things, especially the characters' reactions. She basically helped write a sort of outline for the entire chapter. Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off of you; I would have never finished it without you.**

**To the newest readers: omfgitsajacob, keilo, DaOnLeeSam, edwardrocksmysocks, AlixxandriaBarbieDoll, Samzz, Fee273, xxladytee90xx. Thanks for taking the time to let NN into your lives. If I missed someone, review and yell at me for it.**

**I don't own anything except the extra strength melatonin sitting beside me.**

**BPOV**

It was dark and ominous in the room I was laying in. There was nothing holding me down on the floor yet I felt I couldn't get up…like I wasn't allowed. I tried to take in my surroundings to figure out where I was at this point in time. I thrashed my hands around in an attempt to really _feel _the area around me, but there was nothing. The only thing I could feel was the absence of Edward. This feeling was so pronounced; there had to be some sort of significance to it.

There was a bang, and then a light flickered on. In front of me I saw the dirty, strange, man shooting the cashier. It happened on repeat. Over and over and over again the boy fell behind the counter to die instantly. I felt nailed to the ground, unable to help the boy who I inadvertently put in harm's way. The sketchy man picked me up by the throat and threw me against the wall. Again, this action was on repeat. The scream rippling from my throat reverberated of the walls with each thrust of his arm. The blood running across the dimly lit floor seemed to go on beyond the store this was happening in. It reached toward infinity.

"Such a shame, now I have to do it all over again…" The man's snake-like voice echoed in my ears. His crooked teeth grinned at the prospect of yet another kill.

All the while I wasn't thinking of anything. The movies lied: You don't see your life flash before your eyes, and there really aren't any last words or thoughts. I was completely empty. I stared back into the lifeless eyes of this monster as he twisted my arm and made a small cut on my palm.

Everything moved backwards and the scene played before my eyes again. The screaming was the same, the killing was the same, but the horror was even worse. The more I saw it happen, the more terrified I became.

"Bella, do you hear me?"

My body was thrust away from the evil man and back into my hospital bed. I might have been away from the nightmare, but that didn't stop the screaming. I looked around feverishly for Edward but only saw a team of nurses trying to tie me down to my bed. Edward pushed to the front of them all. He looked scared and worried, and began yelling at the nurses.

"Can't you see she's scared and in pain? Do something! Look at her; I can't bare to fucking see this! Bella, baby, please, don't be scared. I'm here, my love, I'm here!" He was screaming almost as loud as I was.

A dark haired nurse pulled out a syringe and prepped it for something.

"What are you doing?" Edward yelled. "You're going to sedate her? She's not a mental patient! She just needs some calming down!"

"Sir, you need to step aside. We need to get her to relax!" Amidst Edward's profanities, my screams and thrashings, and the nurses' attempts to get me out of my episode, the dark haired nurse injected my IV with the sedative. My screams eventually slowed to a light babbling. I felt Edward's cool, strong, hand on mine before I slipped into a dreamless sleep.

*******

My eyes opened to a very tired and distraught looking Edward. His brow was furrowed and he seemed like he was contemplating something important. His hand was in the same position as it was before I was sedated. I wondered if he had even let go. When he realized I was awake, his face immediately lit up and smiled at me, though he still looked tired in the eyes.

"Bella," he said, as if he had been holding his breath this whole time. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. No nightmares this time," I responded. "How long have I been out?" The blinds were shut and I had no conception of time. My neck hurt too much to turn and look at the clock on the end table next to me.

"You've been asleep for about 12 hours."

"12 hours?!" Holy crap that was a long time. "Please tell me you haven't been here all this time…" I groaned out loud and internally as well. I'd feel so guilty.

"Sorry, Bella, baby. I wouldn't leave your side. Except to pee, of course."

"Ugh. Well I'm glad you at least took care of yourself while I was lying here, useless."

"You've been through something very traumatic, Bella. You're not useless. You just need some rest to get yourself back on your feet. Which leads me to a bit of a proposition…"

What was he proposing? PROPOSING?!! _Chill out, Bella. If you start using that word you're going to drive yourself nuts._

"Go on…" I prompted him.

"I think you should stay at my place for a while. You went through a lot, and it would kill me if you were alone for even a minute. I don't think I could bear to leave you out of my sight." His last sentence he choked on a little bit. I knew he blamed himself for what happened, but I couldn't let him shoulder that around. Besides, I didn't need to be babysat.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need help. I can do things on my own. Ah, shit. I gotta pee." I started to get out of the bed, but I was sore and the sling restricted my movement. I struggled to move, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward stifling a laugh. His smile was strained to stay shut.

"So…you can do things on your own, can you?" He smirked at me, already aware that he had won.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Yeah, whatever. Are you going to help me up or are you going to let me pee the bed?"

Apparently that visual was too much for him, because he began laughing hysterically as he helped me out of the scratchy hospital bed and into the bathroom.

It took us a while before the nurse allowed Edward and me to leave. We were discharged but had to fill out all the necessary paperwork. I was told all that I was supposed to do, including how to shower, when to come in for a follow up, to call if I had any issues, and was given the number for a psychiatrist. Yeah, like I was going to need _that _number at all. Finally, after all the paperwork was filled out, Edward called a cab for us. The Volvo was part of evidence, so he wouldn't be getting it back yet.

The ride home was spent by Edward stealing quick glances at me. He said it was to make sure I was alright, and that was sweet, but I didn't need him watching over me like I was going to break if left alone for three seconds. I didn't get angry with him, though, and politely let him know that there was nothing wrong with me.

We were dropped off at our building and were greeted by some very distraught looking individuals. Alice, Angela, Ben, and Jasper were propped up against my truck. Apparently they had heard what happened, and I was afraid that Alice would kick my butt for not calling her. I looked up at Edward and grimaced. He held my hand tight, understanding my apprehension.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" Alice's tiny voice boomed. She ran to me and squeezed my guts out…almost. "Are you okay? Holy shit you could have died. Why the hell didn't you call me?" All of this was screamed in a matter of milliseconds.

Angela followed suit. "We called you a bunch of times, and then we saw the story in the newspaper. We called the hospital but they said you left." There were tears in her eyes as I sensed the fear they both felt at not knowing what had happened to me. I hugged them both, not wanting to let go. Edward stood in the background, letting me be close to my friends.

Jasper and Ben tried to pull their girlfriends away, and were almost unsuccessful. They finally got to me and both expressed their worry and relief that I was okay. I hugged them both, happy that they were there.

"Jazz, Ben, Angela. This is my boyfriend, Edward. He's been so supportive in the hospital…I owe him my sanity."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you all. Good to see you again, Alice." Edward was the perfect gentleman. "I know you're all concerned about Bella, but I really think she should go upstairs and get some rest. She's been through a terrible ordeal."

"I agree, Edward," Alice began, "but I'm not leaving Bella's side all day. I need to be with my best friend."

Uh oh.

"Understandable," said Edward. "Shall we?" He motioned for us to go inside.

"Ben and I have to get to work, but we'll leave the one car for Angela and Alice to get home in." Jasper and Ben kissed their girls goodbye, nodded to Edward and gave me a hug.

We all went upstairs to Edward's place and I collapsed on the couch. Alice went to get some of my things (I told her I would be staying with Edward for a while) and Angela sat down next to me, holding my hand as I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Bella, I'm going to take a shower real quick. Are you okay with that? Will you be alright?"

"Of course I'll be fine, Edward. Angela's here with me, and Alice will only be across the hall for a few minutes. Go take your shower; you must be dying for one." He really didn't need to be this protective of me. I had two people with me, and I didn't even need that many.

"If you're sure," he said, and placed a light kiss on my forehead before walking towards the back of the apartment to the bathroom.

"He seems wonderful, Bella. And so handsome. He's exactly how you described him."

"I know. He's great, Ang. But I think he may be taking this 'protecting me' thing too far. Don't you?" I wanted to hear another person's point of view, and I knew Alice would say something too extreme to take as a real opinion.

"You have to see it from his perspective, Bella." She shifted her body to look at me. "He almost lost you, and he obviously felt helpless to aid you. It's a man thing. You know what? I bet he's feeling really guilty about it, too. You have to let him protect you, because he'll never forgive himself if he doesn't try."

Her words made all the sense in the world. I understood a little better now why he was doing what he was doing. It was easier to comprehend with someone else explaining it to me. Edward was my boyfriend, and the only way he could feel adequate was by pleasing me and protecting me. He already did the former very well, but he must be questioning the latter. _He's probably in more emotional pain than I am…_

"Thank you, Angela."

We laid there a while until Edward came out of the shower, his messy hair wet and all over the place. He kissed my cheek when the phone rang.

"I have a feeling it's my parents," Edward said, clearly a bit irritated.

"You better answer it then."

He went to answer the phone and Alice came through the door with some essentials from my apartment. She sat down with me and not-so-subtly asked for the details as to what happened.

"Alice, I don't think she's ready to talk about it," Angela said, thinking of my well-being.

"No, it's alright," I said. There was nothing wrong with me.

I went on to describe how I really wanted a muffin, and went into the Dunkin' Donuts down the street. I told them about the dirty looking man and how he shot the cashier in cold blood. I glossed over the details about what was done to me, and then told them how I blacked out until I got to the hospital. Speaking about the incident was weird for me. Edward and I hadn't talked about it, and I didn't give the nurses the story in its entirety. I told them the bare bones facts that were essential to them. I found that I couldn't describe to them the fear or the nothingness that I had experienced in the Dunkin' Donuts. I got a little choked up and the girls decided that I had enough explaining, and Angela and Alice ushered me in the direction of the shower.

"I can shower by myself, guys. _Really_."

"Nonsense," Alice said as she stripped me down.

"ALICE!"

"So what? I've seen you naked before. Besides, you need help showering. It's no big deal."

I rolled my eyes as Alice helped me in the shower and turned the water on. Angela held the arm that was in a cast out of the shower so it wouldn't get wet while Alice assisted with washing my hair. I insisted that I be able to wash my body myself, and Alice didn't argue since she saw the look in my eyes.

One awkward shower and the most difficult time getting clothes on later, I finally felt clean and relaxed…sort of. I laid myself back on the couch and turned on the news. I wanted to know what was going on in the world of FOX, CBS, NBC, etc. What were they saying about the incident? Was my name revealed? Had they caught the bastard?

Alice and Angela sat next to me, side by side, and Edward came back into the living room area with a pained expression on his face and the phone hanging limply in his fingers.

"My parents are coming here. They saw it on the news and panicked. They're about 30 minutes away." He looked apologetic.

"They're worried about you, Edward. I can understand that."

He kneeled next to me and took my hands in his. His green eyes stared into mine, as he said, "They're also concerned about _you_."

"Esme and Carlisle are so kind. It will be nice to see them." All these visitors? My head was starting to spin at the idea.

"Speaking of parents," said Angela, "I'm surprised that Charlie and Renee haven't - "

And, as if on cue, my cell phone rang. Charlie.

"Shit, it's my dad. I'm surprised the whole police force isn't already at my door."

"You better answer it, Bella." All three of them said this at the same time.

"I know, I know…" I pressed the 'send' button and meekly answered, "Hello?"

"Bella, are you okay? Damnit, why didn't you call me? I've been worried sick; I've been trying to call you all day! I read in the newspaper what happened! I am so close to coming down there."

"Dad, I'm fine. Edward has been really good to me; his parents are actually on their way. Alice and Angela are here with me, too. I'm sorry I didn't call you, I was a bit preoccupied."

"Who the hell is Edward? Is he some boy? Did he get you into this mess?"

Fuck. I hadn't told him about Edward yet.

"He's my boyfriend, Dad. And no, he's not responsible for what happened. He's actually feeling pretty guilty right now. He won't let me out of his sight now. I'm staying with him for a few days until I can function on my own."

"I don't like the sound of him." Charlie sounded gruff, but it was weird him playing the dad. He never did it much anyway, but even now that I was 25 it was ten times weirder. My phone beeped and I saw it was Renee.

"Look, Dad, I promise you'll meet him. But mom is calling me and she'll kick my butt if I don't answer. I'll talk to you later."

I switched over to the other line, hesitantly.

"ISABELLA! Oh, my baby, Phil and I are so worried!"

Basically the entire conversation went like the one with Alice. It was the same old nonsense of being worried, which is understandable, but it was annoying to hear it over and over again.

By the time I had finally convinced Renee to stay in Portland and to get off the phone, Edward's parents had arrived. Esme immediately ran over to me and embraced me like her own. She fussed over my injuries, and expressed her concern for me. Carlisle followed her lead and did the same. They were such incredible people. I was lucky that my boyfriend's parents didn't suck.

"Edward has been amazing through this whole thing. I don't know what I would do without him," I told his parents.

I felt like the entire time everyone was there I didn't get to be with Edward at all. His parents were fussing over him and Alice and Angela were guarding me with their life. It was really annoying because for the moment, all I wanted to do was to be with Edward. I wanted to hold him and lay on the couch together, just us, calmly. I got this weird vibe that Alice almost blamed Edward for the attack, which was totally absurd. Was she trying to protect me from him? Was she guarding me from Edward because she felt that he couldn't take care of me? This was far from the truth.

We finally convinced Esme and Carlisle to get some sleep at a hotel near by, but they promised to stop by in the morning before they headed home to Tacoma. As they were on their way out, Emmett and Rosalie were on their way in.

"Big bro! What the fuck, dude? You got attacked by the Ohio serial killer!"

Rosalie slapped him across the face. "YOU HAVE NO TACT!"

"What??" I was so confused. That James guy was the one who attacked us? But how? I mean, I knew he was close, but I never could fathom that he would ever cross my path. Rose sat by my side, introduced herself to my friends, then asked if I was alright and hugged me tightly.

"I…I just…can't…believe that…it was…_him_." It was difficult to get out.

"Bells! I'm glad you didn't die. You'd make a great sister-in-law, dude."

Edward looked furious and just snapped. "Everyone out! You're all surrounding and stifling her, but you're not allowing her to truly relax! Emmett, you're a moron. Rosalie, Mom, Dad, you can call me in the morning, but I can't guarantee you're coming over tomorrow. Alice and Angela…I know it's not my place to say anything to you two, and you've been great all day, but - "

"You are NOT kicking me out. You couldn't even protect her, and you were RIGHT THERE! Bella needs me." Alice was booming.

"Alice…" Angela tried to calm her down.

Edward hung his head low. "I deserve that."

"No you don't!" I spoke up for the first time all day. "Edward is the reason I'm not locked up somewhere right now. He's trying his god damn hardest, Alice, and I won't have you speak to him like that. I love you, you know I do, but he's right. I need rest. You don't have to stay here." I looked directly into her eyes to let her know I meant business. The entire room was silent, and I was almost positive everyone's mouths were all agape. I had really shut the room up, but I felt bad for yelling at Alice. But she screamed at my boyfriend, and unnecessarily.

"I'm sorry, Bella." She hugged me and got up to leave. Angela followed her out and waved to me quickly. I saw Rosalie warn Emmett not to say anything, and they said their goodbyes and exited the apartment. Esme approached me, and said, "Call me if you need anything." Finally it was just Edward and me.

He sat beside me and took me in his strong arms. It felt so nice to have him there with me. I had almost forgotten what it was like. It had been too long since we had been in this position, and I was absolutely exhausted from the day's events. I thought about the way I had spoken to Alice and my sobs came out like silent pain.

Edward stroked the top of my head in an attempt to get me to relax and calm down.

"I'm sorry about today. And I'm sorry for flipping out. But no one would leave you alone."

"That's fine. I needed some god damn space! But Alice…"

"You did what you had to do."

"I hated the way she yelled at you like that." I lifted my head to look at him. "How fucking _dare_ she? All you have done is kept a close watch on me – you've been taking care of me since we were both in the hospital! The fucking nerve of her…"

"I deserve it, Bella. Everything she said is true. I failed you. How can you ever forgive me?" His brow was furrowed, his eyes tearing up, and his flawless lips pulled into a slight frown. He looked down quickly at his fingers, twirling the index ones around and around each other, clearly unsure and ashamed.

"I won't let you feel guilty again!" I put all conviction in my voice and eyes so I would get the message across. "You're amazing. Don't listen to her."

Edward didn't respond, but he didn't argue either. I knew it was going to take some time for him to be able to get over what happened, and it would for me as well, though in a different way. I would do everything in my power to make him feel less guilty, and if that meant allowing him to take care of me like an invalid child…well, so be it.

We were wrapped around each other on the couch for a while, feeling the rhythmic breathing of the other, letting the feel of our heartbeats in synch calm us down. Of course my hungry stomach sent an interrupting growl into the airwaves, and Edward chuckled.

"Looks like it's time to feed you." His tone was light, though there was a sense of guilt in his eyes again, like it was his fault for not getting me food already.

"What would you like to eat, Bella?" he asked me.

"It really doesn't matter. What do _you_ want to eat?" I retorted.

"I believe the question, Miss Swan, was directed towards _you_. I will order what you would like to have."

"But I don't _have_ a preference, Mr. Cullen. Anything that you are hungry for, _I _am hungry for."

This felt good. Really good. Like the back and forth that used to happen before he'd go to work and leave me in his apartment, or the time in the grocery store, when he was so confused about all the kinds of wheat bread. It felt like nothing bad had happened in the universe, and we were just a couple of young, indecisive kids. I tried not to dwell on the fact that this wasn't true…that something had gone wrong, and I had been sensing it for a while. The near perfection was shattered when that man decided to walk into that Dunkin' Donuts. Or was it my own decision? This sort of thinking hurt my brain, and I decided it was not the time for it.

"Bella? You still there?" Edward asked, looking down at me, concerned.

"Sorry, I just…got caught up in my thoughts, that's all."

His facial expression was skewed and twisted in disbelief and concern. I must have looked pretty upset, and I cursed myself for being such an open book; for being so easy to read.

"How about we order a pizza?" I asked, trying to steer his attention elsewhere. "And we can put in a movie. A comedy would be best, I think."

"Sure thing, sweet Bella. I'll order the pizza. Toppings?"

"Hmm…half pepperoni, half plain."

"You got it," he said, and walked over into the kitchen to phone the pizza place. As he was doing that, I stood up and walked over to a cabinet next to the TV. I opened it and searched through the DVDs that were there. He had a wide variety of movies, and I really couldn't pick. I decided on _The Cable Guy_, an amazing dark comedy that got panned commercially, starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was one of my favorites. I put it in the DVD player and walked back over to the couch where Edward was now sitting. I curled myself up to him and he covered me with a blanket his grandmother had knitted him for his 1st birthday.

The movie came on, and he raised an eyebrow. "Your taste in comedy is a bit dark."

"It was in _your _cabinet."

"Yeah, but I hardly watch any of those things. They're mostly for show. Emmett thought I needed some…what was the word? Ah. 'Normalcy.' He thinks I'm a hermit."

"It's sort of true, though. Trust me, this is a good movie."

He nodded and we watched the first 20 minutes when the doorbell rang. I jumped at the sound, scared by its abruptness.

"Bella," Edward said, concern floating in his eyes, "it's just the pizza guy. He's right on time. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just startled me, is all."

"Okay…" He paid for the pizza quickly and was at my side in less than a minute. Clearly he was worried, which he didn't need to be.

The rest of the movie was spent eating pizza straight out of the box (something I only ever saw on television) and basking in the amazingness that is _The Cable Guy_. I could tell that Edward wasn't quite sure about what he was watching. Most people weren't. They just didn't get it. Mostly Edward would be looking at me very quickly. For what reason, I have no idea. Possibly to make sure I hadn't fallen apart in a million pieces. Absurd.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me and protecting me from whatever demons he felt were present.

**The ending is sort of…I don't even know. My tummy feels a little weird with the place E and B are at now. There are some unresolved issues, unvisited demons, and confused emotions swirling around that apartment, and it's driving me nuts.**

**Just a little sidebar: **_**The Cable Guy **_**is actually one of my favorite movies. My comments about it come from the heart, even the one about most people not understanding it. I have also never eaten pizza out of the box; I just see it on TV.**

**Please review. They make me so happy, it's insane. You guys are really really really important. Don't ever forget that. You too, Alex! And remember: Reviews help soothe the sting Edward feels as a result of Alice's comments :( **


	15. Chapter 14

**I'm back from the dead...crazy, huh? I almost don't believe it myself. Commence lengthy and apologetic AN...actually, I won't, because it will waste your time. You guys want to get to the chapter! You know the drill, I'm busy and whatnot. It feels great to be back, though! Thanks to all the new readers/reviewers, and the veterans as well.**

**I own nothing but the skin stretched across my bones.**

**EPOV**

I will never forgive myself for the things I've done. I gave myself the role of protector after that first murder and now I completely blew it. Bella was physically battered and emotionally scarred for life, and it was entirely my fault. Everyone kept repeating how I couldn't have done anything to prevent the incident and that I shouldn't feel guilty. But I couldn't help myself. I had to. She was my responsibility. I knew that psycho son of a bitch was on the loose and yet I _still_ let Bella go in there alone. What was I thinking? I was sick and disgusted with myself.

I tried as hard as I could to keep it together for Bella. I'd make sure that she was comfortable and got the things she needed. If she was hungry, I'd make her something to eat. If she was cold I'd give her a blanket. I'd sit with her in silence or talk about anything if she so desired. Her injuries and emotional pain were far more extensive than mine. But sometimes when I was alone for a brief minute, or in the middle of the night, I'd experience this hollow feeling, like an emptiness that went on for miles. Small, broken sobs would escape from my throat, and I'd curl myself into a ball until morning, or until Bella needed me. She was everything to me. If she wasn't content, then I wasn't taking care of her well enough. Her pain made me suffer. From now on I would be her guardian. I'd protect her from harm, no matter what the cost.

Bella and I slept in my bed. I told her that I would sleep on the couch so she would be more comfortable with the entire King sized bed, but she wasn't having it. I stayed because it was what she wanted, and I didn't want to leave her alone for a second.

It was Sunday night and both Bella and I were fast asleep. I was having a strange dream about pipes bursting and a man-eating couch, when I heard a loud 'thump.' It was so dense and sudden that it woke me up from my sleep immediately. My body shot straight up and I looked around the dark room. Bella wasn't next to me. I started to panic slightly, my chest heaving up and down with each shallow breath. Needless to say, I felt like a puddle of flesh on the floor.

"Bella," I sobbed, addressing the darkness. She was gone and I had lost her again. Would this torture never end? I felt like carving a 'B' into my chest so I would always be reminded of the failure I was. I would carry the burden of losing her in so many ways.

"Damn," I heard a small voice answer back. I knew it couldn't be the blackness of the night, and instantly I felt hope.

I ran around to the other side of the bed. "Bella!" She was lying on the ground, half covered by blankets, wincing in pain. I quickly flicked on the light so I could see her. Bella's hair was skewed in several different places and was reminiscent of a haystack. Her T shirt had lifted up and was exposing her stomach and the bottom of her breasts. Normally this would have sent Little Eddie into a frenzy, but lately if I had ever felt like that towards Bella I felt guilty. I felt like I was taking advantage, even if I wasn't doing anything. My girlfriend was attacked and she quite possibly could have been raped, and I was lusting after her like a shameless horn dog. I pushed all lustful thoughts aside and scooped her up easily in my arms, walking into the living room. I placed her gently on the couch and wrapped her in a blanket and moved into the kitchen to make her tea.

"Edward," came my angel's voice from the living room.

I made a bee line for the couch and kneeled down to her level. "Yes?"

"You don't need to do all of this. I just fell out of bed, that's all. I'm fine."

"Did you have a nightmare?" I was so frightened for her well-being. How could this bastard be visiting her in her dreams? He had terrorized Bella enough; he had no right to keep doing so. It was unfair. Even after he was gone, he was still controlling the situation. I was livid.

What stopped my angry thoughts was the fact that she didn't answer me.

"Bella? Did you hear me?"

I walked over to where she was seated on the couch and saw her, arms crossed, brow furrowed, and lip pouted. She looked like a small child in time out. It was cute yet troubling at the same time.

"I heard you," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth. I took that as a sign that she didn't want to talk about it, so I gave her the space she obviously needed and moved back to the kitchen to finish the tea.

It was deadly silent; the noisy stillness could cut through stone. For the first time in our relationship, it felt awkward and wrong. I didn't know what to say, and I felt that I couldn't say anything. He was tearing apart the comfort of our relationship. What was it that people said? The aftershocks are worse than the initial blow? Something like that. Well…it's true.

I made my way carefully and quietly to couch and sat down beside her, handing her the hot tea once I had settled myself. She took it without a word and without a look my way. She wasn't still in her nightmare, but I could tell she was thinking deeply about something. Her eyes were fixed on a point in the rug, and they didn't show any signs of moving. I wanted to ask her how she was, find out the trouble she was in. But I was afraid it would make her retreat farther in to herself. I tried anyway.

"Bella? Are you alright?" I tentatively asked her, fearing the answer.

Her eyes remained fixated on the rug and her mind was another place all together.

"How can I help you if you don't talk to me?" I was being brave tonight.

"I don't need help. I can take care of myself, like I've told you a thousand times before." Her words were laced with spite and said through clenched teeth.

"You're obviously not well. You haven't spoken to anyone what has happened, you won't answer the phone, and you won't talk to me. There is no way in hell that you're okay because you haven't communicated anything." Didn't she see how much I wanted to help? Didn't she understand that she was making herself sicker by bottling up everything from me, her friends, and family?

"I never said I was alright. I just said I could take care of myself. I can figure things out on my own."

***

It went on like this for days. I took care of Bella as much as I could. We didn't speak most of the time. She wouldn't open up to me and I tried to give her some space. The tension was building as we fought more in this short time span than we had ever fought in the past. It was worrying me. The police called Bella in to properly identify the man who attacked her using a photo they showed her down at the station. They assured the both of us that they were doing everything they could to find him, which warranted a snort of disapproval from me and a cold, blank stare from Bella.

She was turning into a zombie. She wouldn't tell me what was on her mind, if there was anything going on in there. She seemed to walk through the days like some sort of living dead. I was growing more worried by the hours. I suggested she see a therapist, or a specialist in post traumatic stress disorders, but I would immediately be met with an angry yell or a spiteful glare. Things just kept getting worse, and I felt Bella was slipping into an apathetic black hole. I would have felt better if she had shown some sort of emotion; it would make sense if she was angry or sad all the time. At least then she'd be communicating her feelings and possibly more open to therapeutic ideas. But this wasn't the case. She was listless and indifferent, and I had no idea how to handle it. I was failing again, and I couldn't handle it.

I fell asleep on the couch, exhausted from balancing work and Bella, when I felt a familiar and wonderful sensation below the belt. It had been so long since I had felt this, and I welcomed it, whatever it was. I didn't think twice until I heard a soft moan that wasn't mine. My eyes fluttered open to see Bella stroking my lonely member. I was flabbergasted.

"Bella! What the hell are you doing?" I quickly moved her hands away and zipped my pants back up, though my very alive erection made it painful.

Bella moved her legs so she was straddling me, and started to kiss me with fervor.

"You're just so sexy…" she purred.

Normally I would have welcomed this kind of attention, but I didn't think she was ready to do anything like this. I was confused and felt it wasn't right. I pushed her off me, bewildered, and turned to question her.

"What's going on, Bella?"

"What? I'm not attractive to you now that I'm _damaged_?" she screamed at me. This was the most animated I had seen her since the incident. She threw up her arms and stood up, pacing in front of the couch. "You haven't tried to fuck me since I came home from the hospital. What the hell, Edward?" She pulled at her hair and let out a blood-curdling scream, one that would have suggested she was being murdered if she hadn't been standing there right in front of me.

"I don't understand…" I trailed off, thoroughly puzzled.

"You're treating me like I'm broken! Like…like…like I'm paralyzed! All I want is my normal life back! There's no reason why we can't just go back to the way it was! Why the fuck won't you let me?"

"Bella, something very terrible happened to you that night. You can't just expect everything to be alright again," I reasoned.

"I see the way you look at me. Don't you see the bags under your eyes? You're exhausted from putting all your energy into making me feel better."

"But you need my help. You don't even seem alive anymore, Bella. What am I supposed to do, leave you alone?" I couldn't do that.

"YES! Let me figure things out on my own. I'm not used to having people help me along the way. If I can do it by myself, I know that I can get better if you'll let me. So don't handle me like a fragile china doll. Let me cook my own food. Let me make my own tea. Let me make love to you like I know you want to. It isn't fair for one event to make our lives so miserable."

I shook my head. "That's where you're wrong. Taking care of you doesn't make me miserable. Seeing you so hurt is what does."

She ran her hands roughly through her mangled brown hair. She was stressed out, and I wasn't helping. But she just couldn't understand what I was trying to tell her. She needed to hear me out.

She knelt down next to me, her palms spread and grasping her knees.

"I love that you want to help me out. But it's not helping your health. You have too much else to worry about than making sure I have a blanket at all times. If you let me figure some things out, everything will be much better for the both of us. I don't do very well with this hovering you've taken a liking to, Edward."

My head hung between my knees. I tried to hear what she was saying. It registered through my brain, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it. We sat in silence for several minutes.

"You're still attractive to me, you know. And I don't think you're damaged."

"Then why haven't you so much as kissed me on the lips these past weeks?" Her brow was furrowed and her eyes full of vulnerability, worry, and hurt.

I told her the truth. "You went through a great ordeal that night. I didn't think it would be appropriate to expect to jump your bones until you had healed."

"That could take years for me to be healed emotionally! People go through this. It's not just us. Do you think those people don't have sex? I know it seems a silly and superficial point, but it's an important aspect of our relationship. I want to make love to you, have sex with you, and fuck you, any way I want! James ruined a great night and, as it seems right now, a great relationship. I _will not_ let him ruin my boyfriend's incredible sex drive."

Her right hand came up to cup my cheek and I held her left one. Her eyes were set and determined. I knew she wouldn't move on the subject. Though initially I felt uncomfortable, I could see her point. Hadn't I just been thinking how much I hated that this man was controlling her life even after the fact? She felt that way too, and this was her own way of breaking free of James' hold. I would give that to her.

I reached over to kiss her gently on the mouth, and pulled away quickly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, affirming her decision wasn't just a whim.

Her answer came in the form of a hard, passionate kiss and both hands running through my hair. For the second time that night she straddled me, grinding her clothed center into my growing erection.

I knew her problems weren't solved. She was still hurting; she was still traumatized. But I heard what she had said. She wanted to try healing by herself. She wanted to sort through her emotions, troubles, feelings on her own, and I would respect that. Though not everything was righted, what she needed now was to know that my feelings for her hadn't changed from before the incident. I still needed her, and I still wanted her.

My hands gently caressed her curves, making their way slowly to cup her bottom softly. Her tongue probed my mouth and joined with my own. Our movements were slow and passionate. Not at all like some of our previous encounters which, though enjoyable, were mostly fueled by raw, animalistic need. Now we were just two people with these overwhelming feelings for each other. One needed reassurance, and the other would give it to her.

Bella's hands untangled themselves from my hair and ran down my chest, fiddling with the bottom hem of my old T-shirt, which I knew as a signal to take it off. She guided the green shirt off my skin and over to the side of the couch and continued to kiss me sweetly, yet hungrily. Knowing that we would never be able to do this on the couch, I picked her up; her legs wrapped around me tightly, and moved us into my bedroom. I laid her down gently on top of my comforter and just looked her over. If I believed in God, I would have considered her an angel. She was beautiful to me in every way, and in this sweet moment I wanted her to be around longer. I couldn't bear for her to be taken away from me.

"What?" she asked, amused with a hint of worry.

"You're beautiful," I answered with a smile, catching her plump pink lips with my own before she could say anything more. Our loving, tender kisses continued as I ran my hand up and down her body, feeling and remembering every inch of her. Our clothes were removed slowly until we were pressed up against each other without any barriers. I was hers and she was mine, and in this instant, we were both equally vulnerable and equally consumed with passion.

I shifted my weight onto my right arm, my fingers gently caressing her wet core, my lips nipping and sucking at the hollow behind her ear. Her hands grazed my engorged dick, the tender touches continuing for what seemed like hours. This wasn't about achieving release; it was about knowing and feeling each other wholly and completely. This was about making love to one another on another emotional level. We were progressing to the next step, and it had slipped past both of us. We were getting deeper into this relationship.

"I want you," she said, a loaded statement with several different meanings. And, as I was thinking the very same thing, I was glad she said it.

I easily slipped my cock into her tight canal, and her head fell back in complete bliss. The feeling of not only her walls tight around me, but also her entire being as a person, as a lover, as my girlfriend, as someone I could potentially love, was wonderfully maddening. I wanted to continue to explore her and continue to be with her. I felt her presence wrapped around me as I pushed into her, back and forth, sliding in and out. Nothing was said during this period of lovemaking, only panting and groaning were audible; we both knew what the other was thinking.

The length of foreplay that preceded this act had left us both extremely sensitive, and after a couple more thrusts into my beauty we both came, our breaths shorter with stars behind our eyes and in our ears.

Not everything was solved, but a new level of closeness was established.

**I really really really want to know what you think about this chapter. Give me some feedback with substance. It drained me emotionally and pulled a little bit at my sanity.**


	16. Chapter 15

**To Jazz! To the readers, old and new! To Harry Potter! Errr...what? Apparently I'm a drunk Hagrid/Slughorn.**

**I don't own anything.**

**BPOV**

More days passed like this. We worked on our relationship, Edward took care of me but always gave me room to take care of myself, and every day would end with him suggesting I go see a shrink. Every day that comment came without fail. I don't think he realized how much it irritated me until I told him where he and the shrink could go and locked myself in the bathroom for an hour. I knew I was being silly and immature and irrational, but I couldn't help myself. I tried to be adult in dealing with the consequences of the attack every day…why couldn't I be fed up and think the situation unfair? I had more than earned a temper tantrum.

Since that incident Edward hasn't said a word about the psychologist thing. I'm almost positive he's a bit frightened of me.

I started making the meals each day so as not to get out of touch with my cooking skills while I was away from work. I didn't want to come back and get fired immediately for preparing a horrible meal. I was happy Edward didn't complain about letting me take over in the kitchen and making him give up his protective duties. Although, this started after the bathroom incident, so maybe he shut up in fear of another return of my three-year-old self. In any case, I was again getting used to cooking. It's not like I forgot, because it's not something you can forget after a month, but I was a bit rusty.

I knew Mr. Banner was starting to get irritated that his sous chef was gone and the terrible temp, Jared, was burning each dish he made. So I called on Saturday to let him know that I would be returning on Tuesday.

"About time," was the gruff response, followed by a click on the other end of the line.

Edward, of course, asked me a series of unnecessary questions to ensure that I was fit for work.

"How is your arm? Do you have full mobility yet?"

"Yes, Edward. See?" I flailed my bad arm around and around in circles just to show him that there was nothing to worry about. His eyes widened and gasped in protest.

"Be careful! You can't be too sure of the strength of your arm yet…" He held my hand in his, lightly stroking my arm and shoulder.

"Oh, so you're a doctor now, are you?" I teased.

"It's common sense, Bella. Besides, my father taught me a few things so I could get by on my own."

The question and answer session continued for almost two hours; most of the time was spent with me arguing that I was fine, and he insisting that I stay home for another week.

"I don't want to lose my job! Besides, I'm going stir crazy here, just sitting around your apartment all day."

"I'm sure Mr. Banner would understand. Maybe if I talked to him…"

"No," I cut him off. "That will not be necessary." I moved over to the kitchen to make us lunch – grilled cheese.

I was in the process of greasing the pan on the stove when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face in the crook of my neck, breathing in the scent of my cucumber melon body wash and peppering kisses wherever his lips would land. It felt wonderful to have this intimacy again, just a boyfriend and a girlfriend about to enjoy a normal and delicious lunch together. His hands moved over my hips and across my flat stomach, back and forth, over and over again.

"If you want your food, you better quit distracting me," I said playfully. Normally this would have resulted in a quick relocation to the table top with Edward hovering over me. But this time he just walked away and sat at the kitchen table, as if I was angry or completely serious! I wanted to have a talk with him, but I was way too tired for that today.

We sat across from each other at the cold, wooden table and ate our lunch in silence.

The next day was terribly boring. Edward was called into work because of some emergency ad campaign that needed to be pitched. In return, he would get Monday off because he would have to work Sunday. The ad stuff was all a bunch of gibberish to me, and though he was reluctant to leave, I insisted that he rid himself of all hesitancy and guilt and do what he did best. I spent the day cleaning and trying out new recipes, which Edward thoroughly enjoyed when he got home around dinnertime. It was light and sweet, almost like before, except we would have thrown ourselves into some wild, passionate sex after eating. This time, we had nice talk and a sweet cuddle.

Monday there was a horror movie marathon on TV, and I decided since I wouldn't be getting the chance to do this anytime soon because of work, I asked Edward if he would like to participate. He jumped at the offer, obviously because I wanted to do it, and we sat comfortably together on the couch with food ordered from Panera. During a quick break between Hellraiser I and Hellraiser II, I nestled myself in Edward's lap, snuggling until the next movie came on.

"I should probably move my stuff back into my apartment."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Edward nearly choked on his sandwich, his eyes wide and horrified.

"Why? What do you mean?" His cool and calm demeanor was slipping.

"Well, now that I'm getting back to work and pretty much all healed, I don't need to be mooching off of you anymore." It was all perfectly logical in my head. Not so much in his, it would seem.

"Well, I just figured that you would stay." He was clearly disappointed. "It's a step, I know, but it seems to have worked this past month."

"Edward," I began, "you let me crash at your place because I wasn't fit to be by myself after what happened. But that doesn't constitute as me 'moving in.' I don't think we're ready for that, yet. I don't want us moving in prematurely, or living together as a result of an unfortunate happenstance. When the time is right, and when we're strong enough, I would love to live with you."

I chose my words carefully so he didn't think that I didn't want to be with him, because that was so the opposite of how I felt. He needed to know that just staying living together without discussing it, without being ready, could potentially be fatal to our relationship. I communicated all of this to him, and we ended up having a conversation during the whole of Hellraiser II.

"If that's how you feel, Bella," was his somber reply. His green eyes looked tired and let-down, his messy hair seemed limp, his face long. I could tell that he was definitely not expecting my response, and that he really wanted me to stay.

"This is not me telling you I don't want you. This is me putting the brakes on a little bit so we don't get ahead of ourselves and damage what we have. We still need to work back to the way we were."

"Are we really that damaged, Bella?"

"No, we're not. But what happened will harm any kind of relationship and any kind of personality. We used to be fun and horny, now we're careful and solemn. When we work back to that and both feel that we're ready, I would want nothing more than to move in with you."

He stared at his worried hands. "I'm ready," he mumbled.

"But I'm not. And I know that sounds terribly selfish, but we are two halves of a bigger picture, here. If one half isn't there, the portrait won't work."

There was a pause. We sat in silence for a few minutes. His position held for so long and with such discipline, you'd think he was a statue. It was uneasy for me to see him like this.

"Edward?" I asked timidly.

"It's fine," he assured me, but I wasn't convinced.

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you, but I think it's better that I express how I'm feeling now, rather than three months from now when I'm feeling even more uncomfortable."

"I said it's fine, Bella." He picked up the remote to continue with the movies. He didn't want to talk about it anymore, and I didn't want to fight.

I stared at the screen, but in no way was I actually paying attention. I couldn't even tell you what movie was playing, what genre, or what happened. I completely zoned out. Edward's eyes remained cold, vulnerable, and sad. I wished I could make myself feel differently about the living situation, but I couldn't. After the movie I moved my few things back into my apartment. We didn't speak to each other the whole time, and the only words said were "good night" before we went our separate ways to our separate beds in our separate apartments. _Did this cause more of a rift than moving in together would have? _I couldn't help but think that maybe I had caused more trouble and more heartbreak than if I had just stayed.

My apartment felt empty and cold. It had been a month since I had been in this place, and I had almost forgotten what it looked like. It was dark, dusty, and lonely. It was going to be weird, living on my own again. I knew I would see and be with Edward often, but the prospect of being here alone made me feel sad and isolated. I shook my head and pushed away all thoughts of potential regret. _I made the right choice._

That night I had a dream. I was in the middle of the dark ocean. The waves were fierce and the tide was strong. I was whipped around roughly by the sea and I saw a light far off into the distance. It was faint, but it was there. For some reason I couldn't relate to the light. I didn't understand what it meant, and I didn't understand why it was there. After I woke up from the dream I was angry with myself for not swimming towards it and for not realizing that the light would equate to safety and survival. _What the hell? Why didn't I figure that out in the dream?_

Needless to say I didn't get much sleep, so I was exhausted for my first day back to work as I quickly made some toast and drove to buy some coffee. I passed the Dunkin' Donuts and got a horrible feeling in my chest…I went to Starbuck's instead.

I was met at work with a "Welcome Back, Bella" poster, a reluctant Jacob and a sullen temp sulking in the corner.

"Good to have you back," Garrett said as he gave me a huge bear hug. Even the wait staff was back at the kitchens welcoming me. They all greeted me warmly, asked how I was doing, and seem genuinely glad that I was working again. I assured them that I was fine and fit for work, and they nodded and left, getting ready for the opening of the restaurant.

"Yeah, yeah," I heard a booming voice call from the other side of the room. "It's great that Bella's back. But we have food to make, so let's get on it!" Mr. Banner was never an emotional or sentimental man. I was just glad he wasn't angry with _me_.

It was awkward to see Jacob standing there, more sheepish and shy than he normally was. It was just me and him because Garrett went to the freezer and Jared had left as soon as I arrived. We hadn't really spoken since the incident at Edward's office party except to ask for ingredients or to consult about a certain order made by a customer. We both stood there, miles apart, one hand gripping our wrists and our eyes glued to the floor. Jacob looked up briefly.

"Glad you're back," was all he said. I nodded, and we put our aprons on and got to work.

The day passed slowly, especially since we didn't have many customers. It was even worse because I couldn't text Edward to pass the time. I could, but I didn't know what to say, and we hadn't been in the flirtiest mood lately. It would be out of character and just strange to send him a text with a winky face next to it.

I left the restaurant at nine and drove the truck home in silence. Lately music held no appeal to me.

I arrived at my apartment to find Edward waiting for me. My heart leapt until I saw his face: Still sullen. There was a crease in his forehead, his eyebrows clenched together. His lips were poutier than usual and he seemed troubled. I put on a brave face and walked up to him.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello," was his reply.

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes.

"Would you like to…come over?" he asked. It was like we had just started dating. Like we had never done this before and he was unsure of my answer. He seemed as if he felt he was overstepping a boundary or something. I didn't like it.

"Of course." In those two words I tried to relay how silly he was being. Of course I would want to come over, and there was no reason why I _wouldn't_ want to.

His eyes lit up momentarily as he took my hand and lead me through his door.

It was an awkward and unsure night at first, but we finally got back in the groove of enjoying each other's company. We ate a late night snack of chips and dip and scanned the TV for random Asian game shows. We laughed at the commentary and tasks on MXC and even joked around. We were two teenagers spending a night together goofing off, so innocent and so carefree. That was just the surface. Our core was made of the burden of our mid-twenties and the life that James Campbell stole from us. Edward interrupted my thoughts with a question.

"What's the real reason you don't want to move in with me?"

I nearly choked on a chip. I didn't quite get it; I had told him the reason last night. Did he not believe me?

"I told you. I'm not ready, and I think we're too unstable at the moment to be living together. We shouldn't make this sort of decision because the situation left us in a vulnerable state."

"But, Bella, I'm so sure of us. Honest, I am. There's no doubt in my mind that I want to be with you, and keep moving our relationship further."

"I'm not strong enough. _We're_ not strong enough."

"Do you doubt our staying power?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You don't think we'll last, do you? That's what this is all about."

The words didn't make sense at first, and I went to protest, but stopped myself. I thought about it for a bit. Is that really how he saw it? And did I actually feel this way? Hadn't I been worried that this relationship was too good to be true? My head started spinning and I was vaguely aware of Edward's voice saying something.

"I'll take that silence as a yes."

His head hung low and I could see he had reverted back into the despair again.

"No. That is not it, and don't you dare make it that way." I was getting angry now. "Can't I be a bit vulnerable? Can I just not be ready for something? Jesus, Edward, I've been through a lot, and I know you have too, but it doesn't feel right. I think you're being just a little selfish here, which is so weird for me to understand, because you're always the most unselfish person in the world. Please don't read more into it and just understand that I can't do it right now. I just can't."

The place from which this speech came from completely wiped me out; I was totally exhausted. I nearly fell asleep on the spot even though I was so worked up.

"You're right, and I apologize. Can you forgive me?" Edward, always the gentleman, had surrendered. I knew he was still hurt, but I knew that this time he had finally heard me.

As expected, work was a bore again. There weren't that many customers so I had a lot of time on my hands. I knew Edward was having a busy week at work so I didn't bother him with a call or a text. Halfway into my shift I got a text message from Edward.

_Bella,_

_Leave work. I already took care of Mr. Banner, so he knows you have to go._

_Come home, get dressed, and wait for me in the hallway._

_See you soon,_

_Edward_

His message came completely out of the blue and I was thoroughly perplexed. What the hell was this about? Where the hell were we going? I had no idea, and I stood there staring at my phone for quite some time. I heard Mr. Banner come back to the kitchen and scold me.

"What are you still doing here, Swan?" Edward really _had_ talked to him. I didn't stick around to ask why I had to leave, who he spoke to, and what it was about, but just left quickly without speaking to anyone. I went through a wave of different emotions on the car ride home. I was nervous, excited, scared, and anxious. I couldn't think of anything that might warrant me coming home early from work. My truck groaned in protest as I hit the gas a little harder to get to my apartment faster. After a horrible park job and the longest elevator ride ever, I arrived at my door to see a note posted on it.

_Wear something nice._

And that's all it said.

_What the fuck? Where were we going?_ I shoved my keys in the lock and ran into my room, looking for the perfect "nice" outfit. I threaded my hands through my hair, grabbing and pulling in nervousness. For some reason this felt extremely important. _Alice will know what to wear. I'll just call…oh._ I forgot we hadn't spoken in a month. And I couldn't just call her up and say 'Yeah, all that stuff that happened, whatever. Now what should I wear for my mystery excursion with my boyfriend?' It was completely absurd.

I hung my head low for a minute, staring at the cell phone I couldn't use to call my best friend. I would have to make up with her another day. Right now, I needed to find some decent clothes.

I scanned my closet for anything that looked nice. The colors passed me by; blue, green, red, purple, all a blur of cloth. I found two dresses that I was debating on…a dark purple one-shoulder dress and a more casual blue spaghetti strap one. I decided that I was wasting time just standing there with the two pieces of clothing and sent him a picture of the blue one with the message, 'This okay?'

The text back came two minutes later and read, 'Dressier.' I opted for the purple one. **(A/N: Picture of purple dress in profile)**

Time was not on my side, so I quickly took my hair out of its ponytail and fluffed it up with my hands and threw on a pair of black peep toe heels Alice bought me for Christmas last year. I put some mascara and eyeliner on, along with a neutral shade of lip gloss. The purse I never used was hanging on my bed post, and I put my cell phone, keys, and wallet in it and ran out the door, bumping into Edward with a thud.

"Oops," I said. "Sorry." He was wearing black dress pants, a white collared shirt and a suit jacket. As put together as he seemed, his hair remained in that sexy disarray. I looked up at him, trying desperately to read his expression. He seemed amused and…entranced?

"It's quite alright," he chuckled. "I've missed your clumsy side." I saw him look me up and down, surveying my outfit.

"Is the dress okay?" I asked, hoping I was dressed properly for whatever this occasion would be.

He chuckled again. "Okay? Bella, you look nothing less than exquisite. You're perfect." The blush crept to my cheeks yet again, and he lifted my chin up to be level with him. "It's been a while since you've blushed. I've missed that."

It seemed like we were both reminiscing about the beginning of our relationship, even though it hadn't been that long ago. What accelerated the decline towards boredom was the unfortunate circumstance of a psycho serial killer. I'm sure if that never had happened, we'd still be in the horny and fun new-relationship phase.

"I've been thinking a lot about our first weeks together, and I realize now how much we've changed, and not for the better. It's not our faults, but we have the ability to fix the course we seem to be on. I want to keep you for as long as possible, and I want to show you how much you mean to me. I want to go back to the way things were." Edward's fingers ran through his hair during his entire speech, and it was obvious he was extremely nervous. I grabbed his hand and took it in mine. Staring deep into his emerald green eyes, I conveyed everything I felt about him in a single look, mostly because I had no words.

He smiled crookedly. He held his arm out for me to grab, and said, "Shall we?" I obliged, still unsure of where the night was headed.

**I do this all the time, but I was actually going to have this chapter longer, but I wrote the last line and thought it would be a great place to stop! Muahah cliffie! Plus I don't know where these two are going =\**

**Suggestions for the special occasions? Comments on the chapter and the overall story? Please review! I love you guys.**


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